Carrefour Romania launched the latest edition of the Pay with PET program

The Pay with PET program returns for the fifth and last edition between September 1 and November 24. This time in all cities where Carrefour is present with hypermarkets, in partnership with Coca-Cola HBC Romania, GreenPoint Management, TOMRA, FEPRA and ECO Synergy Caravana aims to facilitate the transition of consumers to the European standards of selective collection by promoting a nature-friendly habit and behavior.

The campaign will have, for the second consecutive year, smart equipment (Reverse Vending Machines), which have the technology necessary for separate collection for PETs, aluminum cans and glass packaging, in line with European standards for selective collection. Customers will receive in exchange Romanian fruits and vegetables for the price of 1 PET, aluminum can or glass packaging per piece. Also, for every rPET DORNA water container, made from 100% recycled and 100% recyclable plastic, customers will receive double the amount of fresh fruit and vegetables. Since its launch, Pay with PET supports and inspires the consumer to better, responsible and environmentally friendly habits, both when shopping and at home.

“Paying with PET is the initiative that for 5 years expresses Carrefour Romania’s vision of the circular economy, transforming plastic into currency for Romanian fruits and vegetables and promoting its reintroduction into the economic circuit, through recycling. With this latest edition, which represents another important step towards a sustainable future, we aim to consolidate the nature-friendly practices learned and acquired during the campaign and show society that through responsible behavior, we can create a cleaner and better environment. The 5th edition Payment with PET supports the transition to the Return Guarantee System (SGR). We do this by learning a sustainable habit and behavior, but also by using smart equipment for the second consecutive year. We thank everyone who has supported us since 2019 and we invite you to join us in this final stage as well. We are also happy to have new strategic partners with us, with whom we are bringing this latest edition to the national level, in all the cities where Carrefour is present”, said Alina Gamauf, Member of the Executive Committee of Carrefour Romania.

“We are happy to once again be partners of this program, which during the 4 editions held has supported consumers in adopting a responsible lifestyle and which has united us all in taking important steps towards achieving the goal of having a world cleaner, “a world without waste”. Also, Paying with PET created the necessary framework to understand that packaging waste, through recycling, turns into new packaging, with a much reduced carbon footprint, such as the 100% recycled PET packaging used for our Dorna mineral water. Last but not least, this latest edition represents the preparation for how consumers will get involved in the Return Guarantee System, using the automatic collection machines for PET, aluminum or glass packaging waste”, said Alice Nichita, Corporate Affairs & Sustainability Principal.

The 5th edition of the campaign brings Romanian fruits and vegetables into the spotlight for the last time. The products of local farmers remain with Plata cu PET until the end of the caravan, after which they will only be found on the shelf. Therefore, only this autumn, customers can exchange recyclable packaging for seasonal fruits and vegetables from independent farmers and associates in cooperatives, Carrefour Romania partners. Through the global Act for Food strategy, Carrefour supports local producers, facilitating customers’ access to fresh and affordable products for all.

Pay with PET was introduced for the first time by Carrefour Romania in 2019, as part of the circular economy program “Put a Price on Plastic”. During the four years of the campaign, over 1 million PET packaging and over 300,000 bottles and aluminum cans were collected, through the involvement of more than 500,000 customers, who in return received over 200 tons of Romanian fruits and vegetables.

Carrefour Romania, omnichannel retailer, with a national footprint of over 400 stores, has taken responsibility for recycling, by facilitating access to a recyclable waste collection infrastructure, through the circular economy program “Put a Price on Plastic”. The program aims to reduce the company’s environmental footprint and support customers in the transition to better consumption habits, starting from the principles of the circular economy – use less, use longer, make clean, use again. The recycling campaigns launched by Carrefour Romania at the local level, part of the Put a Price on Plastic umbrella program: We collect used oil, Pay with PET and Charge your batteries with a good deed.

“GreenPoint is proud to support and be a part of the it’s the 5th edition of the Payment with PET campaign. Projects of this type are crucial in educating and raising public awareness in the field of sustainability. From the beginning, Green Point has been involved in this project and we are happy to support this edition as well. As the market leader in the OIREP segment, we believe it is our duty to promote environmentally responsible practices and contribute to the creation of a cleaner and better future for all”, said Dan Ceaușescu, CEO of Green Point Management.

The first stop of the Plata cu PET 2023 caravan took place this weekend in Alba Iulia, in the premises of the new Carrefour hypermarket and in Sibiu. The customers of the two cities recycled approximately 3,000 PETs, aluminum cans and glass packaging at the station specially set up in the stores, for which they received fresh Romanian fruits and vegetables.

The initiative runs in parallel in two cities, in 37 hypermarkets in the country between September 1 and November 24 (Alba Iulia – Sibiu: September 1-3; Cluj – Brașov: September 5-7; Baia Mare – Sfântu Gheorghe: 9 – September 11; Satu Mare – Piatra Neamț: September 13-15; Oradea – Bârlad: September 17-19; Timișoara – Focșani: September 21-23; Drobeta-Turnu Severin – Galați: September 26-28; Târgu Jiu – Brăila, October 1-3; Craiova: October 5-8; Constanta: October 6-8; Bucharest: October 17-19; Râmnicu Vâlcea – Bucharest: October 21-23; Arad – Buzău: October 25-27; Zalău – Ploiești: 29 -October 31; Târgu Mureș – Târgoviște: November 2-4; Suceava – Pitești: November 6-8; Botoșani – Bucharest: November 10-12; Iași – Bucharest: November 14-16; Roman – Bucharest: November 18-20; Bucharest: November 22-24).

“We are extremely excited about this partnership and the opportunity to be part of the campaign for change. Once the consumer understands that they actually own a valuable resource and not just plastic waste, they will need maximum accessibility to harness that resource. Our role is to facilitate the development of a solid package pickup infrastructure with a friendly interface that will create a pleasant experience for the consumer and keep them coming back. The return guarantee system is a few months away, and such initiatives help in thorough preparation for welcoming consumers”, said Dorin Mihai, Director General at TOMRA Collection Romania.

“As trendsetters in the packaging waste market, we have an additional responsibility in terms of protecting the environment and encouraging sustainable consumption, that’s why we are happy to establish a strategic partnership with Carrefour and to actively contribute to the Pay with PET campaign. We believe that in the field of recycling we need as many such awareness initiatives as possible to start looking at packaging waste as a resource and thus facilitate the transition to the circular economy”, said Ionuț Georgescu, FEPRA general director.

“Embracing sustainability as a principle of life is for us at Eco Synergy the everyday normality and something we hope to share with everyone around us. As an organization that implements extended producer responsibility in the field of packaging and packaging waste, taking on environmental responsibilities is for ECO SYNERGY not only compliance with specific legislation, but also an important step in educating society and protecting the environment. We have joined the Carrefour – Payment with Pet campaign because it is in line with our vision and strategy to promote sustainability and is an important example in terms of separate collection and recycling, in the context of the circular economy model we want to move towards as society”, declared Ștefan Runcanu, Deputy General Director – Eco Synergy.

In addition to Romanian fruits and vegetables, customers who bring PET packaging, glass and aluminum cans, during the campaign, can participate in the grand raffle to win 20 electric scooters, with registration based on the card available in the areas dedicated to the campaign.