RetuRO expands the DRS network with the third light industrial plant in Bacău county creating 70 new jobs, green jobs

RetuRO, the administrator of the Deposit Return System (DRS), is making progress in implementing the project in Romania and is preparing to open the third regional light industrial plant in the town of Nicolae Bălcescu, in Bacău county. This light industrial plant, located in the Eli Park Bacău logistics park, will carry out the operations of counting and sorting the beverage containers collected from retailers.

The new light industrial plant has an area of 7,800 square meters and its equipment will be provided and installed by Anker Andersen A/S from Denmark, the company with which RetuRO has signed a turnkey equipment procurement contract for all national centers.

The light industrial plant will be equipped with eight industrial machines for counting PET bottles and cans, as well as four other machines for counting glass, with a total processing capacity of up to two million PET bottles and metal containers, and approximately one million glass bottles per day. Additionally, the light industrial plant in Bacău county will also be equipped with 2 optical sorters with a capacity of 6 tons/hour and two baling presses with a production capacity of over 130 bales per day.

The light industrial plant in Bacău county will be operational by the end of April 2024 and will have 70 employees.

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As the administrator of the Deposit Return System, RetuRO will open 17 centers in the following year, where it will transport the beverage containers collected from approximately 80,000 retailers. These will be counted, sorted, and prepared for transportation to recycling companies to produce recycled raw materials, which will be used in the production of new beverage containers.

”With an ambitious goal of opening and operating 17 national light industrial plants with approximately 500 employees in less than a year, we strive to ensure, step by step, the necessary resources to process the volume of beverage containers collected from approximately 80,000 retailers.

The opening of the new light industrial plant in Bacău represents an important step towards ensuring a strong infrastructure for the Deposit Return System, to support our efforts in promoting recycling and protecting the environment. Thus, we bring benefits both to the environment, by reducing waste, and to the local community, by creating jobs and fostering the economic development of the region. We are confident that, together with all our partners, we will build an efficient and responsible system that will make Romania a leader in recycling and the circular economy,” says Gemma Webb, CEO and President of the Directorate of RetuRO.

The investment in industrial infrastructure represents the largest portion of the funding obtained by RetuRO from ING Bank, within one of the largest private loans granted in Romania for environmental projects.

“I’m pleased to see that RetuRO SGR is on track with the gradual opening plan for the counting centers and is going to launch the first such center in Bacau, in the Moldova region. This will lead to the creation of approximately 70 green jobs.

It is essential that the entire logistic process of the Deposit Return System operates with minimal environmental impact and reduced CO2 emissions. The gradual opening of the counting centers in the early months of DRS‘s operation will contribute to achieving this goal,” says Mircea Fechet, Minister of Environment, Waters, and Forests.

Following sustained efforts, RetuRO is taking significant steps towards consolidating its logistics infrastructure. On November 30th, 2023, the Deposit Return System will be launched, and the light industrial plant in Bonțida, Cluj County, will begin operating.

Meanwhile, RetuRO also started the preparations for the second light industrial plant, located in Giarmata, Timiș County.

In the near future, RetuRO will announce other strategic locations that will be prepared to support the Deposit Return System, emphasizing the company’s commitment to expanding the network and developing the right infrastructure for a more sustainable future.

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 smaller 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.