‘We like it a lot’: how Romania created the largest deposit return scheme in the world.
27 November 2025
It is a simple scheme: when buying soft drinks or alcoholic beverages, the customer pays an extra 0.50 Romanian leu per bottle and gets the money back when returning the packaging to a collection point.
In the two years since the system was launched, beverage-packaging collection and recycling has risen to 94%.
In the two years since the system was launched, beverage-packaging collection and recycling has risen to 94%.