🍃 Romania solved a massive waste problem

Just a few years ago, Romania ranked near the bottom of Europe’s recycling tables.

Very little material was making its way back into production.

Bottles and cans were commonly discarded, and the country’s circular economy numbers reflected it.

Then the system changed.

In 2023, Romania introduced a nationwide deposit return scheme for drink containers.

Consumers pay a small deposit when they buy a beverage, and get it back when they return the empty container.

It’s not a new idea.

Deposit schemes have been used successfully in many countries for years.

But that’s exactly the point.

Romania didn’t try to reinvent the wheel.

They adopted a system that was already tested, already proven, and already working elsewhere.

The results have been significant.

More than 8 billion containers collected and over half a million tonnes of high-quality materials recovered and sent back into production.

Visitors now often say something striking.

You rarely see discarded bottles anymore.

What makes this example interesting isn’t just the scale.

It’s the lesson behind it.

We often assume that solving big problems requires entirely new solutions.

But in many cases, the solution already exists.

It just hasn’t been implemented yet.

Source: ‘In Romania now, you don’t see a bottle anywhere’

Best,

Jasper