FEPRA recycled and recovered 178,000 tonnes of packaging waste in 2017

With a turnover of EUR 32 million, which it used to recycle and recover over 178,000 tonnes of packaging waste in 2017, in the name of producers and importers it represents, FEPRA International is among the top 3 companies that manage packaging waste on the Romanian market. The company’s plans include constant investments which will contribute to the national infrastructure for collection and recycling.

FEPRA International is a joint stock company, authorized in 2016 by the Environment Ministry to take over waste management responsibility for producers and importers who bring packaging and packaging waste on the Romanian market (these companies are known as RTOs – responsibility transfer organisations).

“In 2017, 528 companies declared to us their placement of about 260,000 tonnes of packaging waste on the market: paper and cardboard, glass, PET and other plastics, wood, steel or aluminium. In order to meet the recycling and recovery targets specific to each flux and the total general recycling objective of at least 60 percent, we contracted the services of 176 companies across the countries – collection and sanitation firms, sorting stations, treatment and recycling companies, landfills. Specifically, these partners conduct the type of activities for which they are authorized by the environmental authorities, then they inform us about the waste quantities they manage and provide us with all the necessary documentation so that we can have proof of waste traceability. However, we want to ensure that the financial resources we manage in the name of producers are used efficiently and for real services, we conduct on-site checks, we audit our suppliers, we look carefully over all the documents we receive, and we reconfirm all the quantities. It is a big effort, it is quite expensive, but absolutely necessary if we want real recycling that’s not just on paper,” said Roxana Sunica, Director of Marketing, Communication and Public Affairs at FEPRA International.

FEPRA’s revenues in 2017 were RON 145.6 million. The budgetary execution shows that 80 percent of the total was used for paying rebates regarding waste management; 6.4 percent for administrative and operational expenditures; 5.2 percent for taxes; 2 percent profit (which, according to the law, can be used exclusively for the same type of activity), while another 6.4 percent are investments made by the company following its development lines.

In terms of collection, the company acquired: specialised vehicles, trucks, containers, dumpsters and bags. For waste treatment, investments were made in: sorting stations, fixed and mobile presses, glass compactors and crushers, waste shredders and forklifts. On the recycling segment, there is now a new line for PET recycling, at Cadelplast, in Hunedoara county.

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“According to public data available at the Commerce Registry, in terms of turnover, FEPRA has a market share of 22 percent of the total packaging waste management done by RTOs. Our objective is to have a steady growth in 2018, perhaps getting close to taking responsibility for 300,000 tonnes of packaging, as this is the quantity for which we are confident we can fulfil our contractual obligations to our clients. But, above growth, we want to ensure that we follow all the legal environmental provisions in the name of those whom we represent. For example, for 2017, FEPRA reached a recycling and recovery rate of 69 percent, compared to the minimum of 60 percent stated by the law. We work in such way because we have a prudential approach – during on-site checks we may discover that not all quantities are accompanied by justifications according to legal requirements and thus we acquire larger quantities throughout the year so that we do not endanger the targets of our producers. We also do this because we believe waste management and environmental protection are continuous actions that should be carried out to the end. The action does not stop when the minimum legal requirements are met,” said Sunica.

In 2018, the company plans to invest in the preparation and recovery of wood, treatment and recovery of glass, implementing the production of selective collection bags, mechanisms for increasing the recycling capacity for PET and supporting educational, awareness and involvement programmes for citizens, together with national environmental authorities and other market actors.

“Why FEPRA? First of all, we want to be transparent with all our partners – clients, authorities, suppliers, citizens. We want to work with as many trustworthy suppliers as possible and to professionalise the activity on this market together. To become more efficient both for the environment, as well as for our clients, and, ultimately, for consumers. To really focus on social responsibility, waste management and sustainable development. To contribute to the long-awaited national system that ensures the separate waste collection from citizens. Without this factors, most waste quantities will still end up in landfills,” added Roxana Sunica.