Romania’s Packaging Market Moves into Transition

The Romanian packaging market saw significant movement in 2025. The defining feature is the coexistence of two central collection and responsibility systems: while the SGR return system is gaining importance for single-use beverage packaging, extended producer responsibility via OIREPs remains central for many other packaging flows. Recycling, collection and infrastructure, however, continue to vary considerably by region.

EPR and SGR with distinct roles

In addition to the quantities placed on the market, AFM also recorded packaging waste recycled through the OIREP system, which is based on extended producer responsibility, or EPR. In 2025, this amounted to a total of 1,112,086 tonnes. Of this volume, 568,888 tonnes were paper and board, 203,148 tonnes wood, 179,147 tonnes plastic excluding PET and 31,990 tonnes PET. This was supplemented by 77,925 tonnes of glass, 45,695 tonnes of metal and 5,294 tonnes of aluminium. A further 66,080 tonnes were recovered through processes other than recycling. According to the available information, this mainly concerned plastic and paper/board packaging.

On this calculation basis, paper and board achieved a recycling rate of around 71 percent. Wood packaging reached around 30 percent. Plastic packaging, including PET, achieved around 40 percent. For PET alone, the calculated figure within the OIREP system was around 21 percent, compared with around 17 percent for glass and around 16 percent for aluminium. Metal reached around 61 percent.

However, these values reflect only one side of the overall picture: for PET, glass and aluminium, a substantial share of the packaging stream is now collected through the guarantee-return system, or SGR. As a result, the OIREP values for these materials appear lower than a comprehensive view of the return and recovery pathways would suggest.

SGR stands for Sistemul de Garanție-Returnare, Romania’s guarantee-return system for single-use beverage packaging. Functionally, it corresponds to a deposit return system. Alongside it, so-called OIREPs operate in Romania. These are organisations that assume packaging-related extended producer responsibility obligations on behalf of producers. Since its introduction, the SGR has primarily changed the beverage packaging segment. Other packaging flows continue to be managed through OIREPs or individually by manufacturers.

Another striking feature is the difference between the overall market and the municipal OIREP flow. While wood is the second-largest material stream in the overall market, it plays only a minor role in municipal collection. There, paper and board, non-PET plastics and glass dominate.

The return performance is particularly evident at material level. Under the SGR, 105,132 tonnes of PET packaging were placed on the market and 86,229 tonnes were returned. This corresponds to around 82 percent. For glass, 339,464 tonnes of packaging placed on the market compared with 275,930 tonnes returned, equivalent to around 81 percent. Aluminium reached around 83 percent, with 23,740 tonnes placed on the market and 19,798 tonnes returned.

These figures explain why PET, glass and aluminium show comparatively low rates in the classical OIREP system. A substantial share of these packaging flows is now collected through the SGR.

According to the most recently available EU data for 2022, Romania’s official packaging recycling rate was only around 37 to 38 percent. For 2025, the combination of OIREP and SGR, based on AFM data, points to a significantly higher calculated rate of around 57.6 percent. Romania therefore remains a weak packaging recycler by European comparison, but is visibly catching up.

Ecoteca also points out that the performance of the deposit return system should not be measured solely by the return rate. There are several stages between market placement, return and actual entry into recycling facilities. Of the 275,930 tonnes of returned glass, 249,764 tonnes reached recycling facilities. For PET, 105,132 tonnes were placed on the market and 86,229 tonnes were returned; 78,593 tonnes reached recycling facilities.

According to Ecoteca, the return rate for SGR packaging improved significantly between January 2024 and December 2025. Across the full period, the average stood at 69.2 percent. The monthly analysis shows an increase from around 55 percent in 2024 to around 83 percent in 2025. In individual months, the system exceeded the 100 percent mark, including January 2025 at 106.1 percent and October 2025 at 103.9 percent.

Ecoteca attributes these peak values to the fact that some of the packaging returned in 2025 had already been purchased earlier and was only returned later. Overall, the analysis interprets the development as a sign that the SGR has moved beyond its initial phase and reached a more stable operating phase.

A Guardian report based on RetuRO data also illustrates the scale of the system. RetuRO is the operator of Romania’s guarantee-return system. According to the report, around 7.5 billion beverage containers had been returned by the end of September 2025: around 4 billion PET bottles, 2 billion cans and 1.5 billion glass containers. The report also cites more than 500,000 tonnes of high-quality recyclable material collected.

Two Systems, One Shared Task

The combined architecture of classical producer responsibility and the guarantee-return system is beginning to deliver visible results. The SGR is stabilising the return of beverage packaging, while OIREPs continue to cover large volumes outside this system.

At present, however, there are still substantial differences in local structures, varying material transfer tariffs and unevenly distributed publicly funded collection projects. The performance of Romania’s recycling system therefore depends not only on national rules, but also on regional organisation and existing infrastructure. The central task in the coming years will be to better integrate the two systems and reduce regional disparities.

Author: Alexander Stark, Editor FACHPACK360°