PNL deputy Mircea Fechet, former Minister of the Environment, announced on Monday the submission of a legislative initiative through which the guarantee-return system (SGR) would be extended to the packaging of borscht, vinegar, distilled water, coffee and coffee-based products, but also to reusable jars and packaging.
Mircea Fechet proposes the expansion of the guarantee-return system PHOTO: Shutterstock
“I submitted, today, a bill amending the primary legislation regarding packaging, related to expanding the warranty-return system. Basically, we are taking the SGR into the pantry because, in addition to all the categories we are already familiar with, we are going to extend the system to borscht, vinegar, distilled water, coffee or coffee-based products. At the same time, I have another very good news, namely the fact that from January 1, 2027 we hope to have the guarantee-return system for jars as well, whether we are talking about jars with metal or plastic lids, compote, sausage or pickles”Fechet declared at the Parliament.
According to the deputy, the jars will be able to be brought to RVMs and collection points, which will allow reaching an adequate level of collection, reports Agerpres.
Reusable packaging enters the system
Fechet explained that the project also targets reusable packaging: “Today, The SGR is for single-use packaging only. You probably hear whenever you put a bottle into an RVM like it’s either broken if we’re talking about bottle or pressed in the case of a dose or PET. For reusable packaging, the glass can be reused 50 times, and 60 times, being washed for juices, for still or mineral water, soft drinks, beer and so on, let’s be able to use the same infrastructure for managing reusable packaging”.
Romania, cleaner with the help of SGR
The liberal MP emphasized that the legislative initiative is a continuation of the project he initiated during his tenure as Minister of the Environment and will contribute to a cleaner Romania. “The system is mature enough to allow it to be scaled up and I say this because the figures for September indicate a collection rate of over 90%, making it comparable to any other warranty-return collection system from the European Union and much higher, in my opinion at least, compared to the conventional system of collecting recyclable materials, where we have a collection rate of 13 – 14 – 15%“, explained Mircea Fechet.
Coffee capsules do not enter the SGR
Asked if the system will also apply to reusable capsules, Fechet clarified: “For now, we are discussing reusable packaging. Reusable capsules, of course, like many other wastes that could be recycled, represent an environmental problem that needs to be managed. Under no circumstances can we insert a coffee pod into an RVM because the RVM claims some minimum dimensions and some maximum dimensions. The guarantee today in the law is 50 money, most likely this guarantee will also be kept for reusable packaging“, added the deputy.
