Good News – Romania Achieves 94% Recycling Rate After Creating the Largest Return Plan Globally

Ethics Matters

Q4 2025

In recent news, Romania may have surprised many when it was announced that its recycling system for beverage containers is the largest and most successful in the world. The government’s partnership with the logistics firm RetuRO, has led to a 94 percent collection rate of plastic, glass and metal containers in just two years.  

How did the European country achieve such success? Retailers are given a tax credit to incentivize the installation of return infrastructure. Then, customers receive a few extra cents to return their items in the appropriate condition.  

Romanians returned about 7.5bn beverage containers between the system’s launch in November 2023 and the end of September 2025. “It is a zero-to-hero story,” said RetuRO Chief Executive Gemma Webb. “We are the largest fully integrated deposit return system globally.”  

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