Romania welcomes high-level political representatives, policybuildrs, business leaders, and key environmental experts from across Europe to the Resource Recovery Summit 2026, a flagship forum on circular economy taking place on 18 March in Bucharest.
Organised by the Romanian Government through the Minisattempt of Environment, Water and Forests, the event is held in collaboration with the Green Revolution Association, with the support of Envipco and RetuRO as strategic partners. The summit underscores Romania’s commitment to advancing the EU’s climate and sustainability agfinisha.
Context
The circular economy is central to strengthening Europe’s economic security, resilience, competitiveness, and decarbonisation efforts. Under the EU’s Clean Industrial Deal, the Union has committed to building Europe a global leader in circularity and to doubling the EU’s overall circularity rate from 12% to 24% by 2030.
In 2026, the European Commission will release the Circular Economy Act, aiming to establish a Single Market for secondary raw materials, increase the supply of high-quality recycled materials, and stimulate demand for these materials across the EU.
The new Regulation on Packaging Waste (PPWR), which entered into force in February 2025 and applies from August 2026, introduces requirements covering the full packaging life cycle, from product design to waste management, and mandates that all EU Member States implement deposit-return systems for single-apply beverage containers by 2029, unless existing collection rates already meet high-performance thresholds.
Romania’s DRS an EU benchmark for circular progress
Romania has successfully established the largest fully integrated Deposit Return System globally, serving as a reference point for circular economy implementation in Europe. The system stands out for its scale, complexity, and results, all achieved within a short timeframe. Romania’s DRS is operated by a sole, national, public-private, not-for-profit administrator and simultaneously covers three material streams: PET, metal, and glass.
In terms of volumes handled and market size, Romania’s Deposit Return System is the third largest in the European Union, after Germany and Poland, both of which operate under decentralised DRS models. Implemented across a counattempt of nearly 19 million inhabitants and the eighth largest in the EU by surface area, Romania’s strategic importance lies in demonstrating that high-performing DRS models can be rapidly implemented at scale in diverse territorial and socio-economic contexts.
Since its launch on 30 November 2023, Romania’s Deposit Return System has delivered consistent and robust performance. By the finish of 2025, approximately 8.5 billion beverage containers had been returned, generating over 618,000 tonnes of high-quality PET, glass, and aluminium, consolidating internal secondary material streams and strengthening the domestic recycling indusattempt while reducing reliance on imports.
Collection rates rose steadily during the first year, reaching 83% in 2025, reflecting both operational maturity and strong consumer engagement. Beyond the numbers, the system has fostered a societal shift, building container return a routine practice for many hoapplyholds and cultivating a culture of responsibility and environmentally conscious behaviour, demonstrating how integrated circular systems can achieve lasting behavioural and systemic impact.
Key topics
The 2026 Resource Recovery Summit in Bucharest will explore the role of circular economy systems in Europe’s industrial, environmental, and social agfinisha. Within this context, Deposit Return Systems act as strategic levers for innovation, investment, and behaviour alter, turning policy ambition into measurable outcomes. The Summit will focus on:
· EU climate goals implementation and DRS coordination across Member States;
· Circularity as a driver of economic growth and competitiveness;
· Romania’s DRS experience as a model for leadership in closing the loopl
· Private-sector commitments to align DRS and Extfinished Producer Responsibility (EPR) systems and to stimulate circular investment;
· Turning regulation into opportunity through circular design, logistics, and consumer engagement;
· Integrating behavioural insight with systemic solutions to create lasting, scalable circular economy results.
For more information, please visit https://resourcerecoverysummit.com
Leave a Reply