RetuRO plans the opening of the second DRS light industrial plant in Giarmata, Timis County

RetuRO, administrator of the Deposit Return System (DRS) in Romania, plans the opening of the second light industrial plant in Giarmata, Timiș County. The unit will be set up in a logistics space with an area of approximately 4,400 square meters inside the Global Vision industrial park, where counting and sorting of beverage containers collected from retailers will be carried out.

The construction and setting up of RetuRO light industrial plant in Timiș County will be completed in February, 2024. The sorting and counting equipemnet will be supplied and installed by Denmark’s Anker Andersen A/S. RetuRO signed with Anker Andersen A/S a turnkey equipment purchase agreement for all regional centers, which will be gradually opened by autumn next year, simultaneously with the increase in the volume of beverage containers made available on the market by producers, returned by consumers and collected by retailers.

The centre in Giarmata will manage beverage containers collected both manually and automatically from almost 80,000 retailers nationwide. Glass containers will be counted, shattered and prepared for recycling. In addition, bales from regional counting centers will be brought here, and will undergo an optical sorting process. Metal containers (aluminum and steel) and plastic containers will be counted, sorted and compacted to be sent to recycling companies.

Gemma Webb, RetuRO CEO and President of the Executive Board:“Setting up the second light industrial plant in Giarmata represents another significant step in achieving our vision for a cleaner Romania. With the preparation of these industrial plants, we also started an important component of our development plan – the recruitment campaign for all 17 regional industrial centers. We have a very ambitious goal – about 600 employees, of which at least 500 will be part of these plants across the country. We remain committed to turning recyclable resources into an engine of positive change, and with every containers counted, sorted and recycled we contribute to a cleaner environment and a better future for all.”

The Deposit Return System will operate in Romania with 17 light industrial plants, where RetuRO, as DRS administrator, will transport the beverage containers collected from the approximately 80,000 retailers. These will be counted and sorted to be transported to recycling companies to produce recycled raw material, which will be used in the production of new beverage containers.

The investment in the industrial infrastructure represents the largest part of the 100% private financing obtained by RetuRO from ING Bank, as part of one of the largest private loans granted in Romania for environmental projects.

The Deposit Return System in Romania is a uniquely complex project at the European level, with significant long-term benefits but its implementation faces multiple challenges at the beginning. It is of great importance to mention first the actual time available to RetuRO for the implementation of the project in Romania, that was only one year, from the hiring of the first employee, the CEO of the company, in November 2022, until the Go live moment, scheduled for 30 November 2023.

For instance, Malta and Slovakia, significantly lighter countries in terms of land area, population, and the proportion of traditional trade, were granted longer implementation periods, after the issuance of the system administrator’s license.

Last but no least, the specifics of Romania must be recognized, including geographical factors, like its vast territory and fragile infrastructure, the demographic characteristics, with its population being considerably larger compared to the most recent European countries that have implemented a Deposit Return System and the distribution of economic operators, which is almost evenly spread between urban and rural areas.