Eco-Rom Ambalaje Magazine Issue No.9 August - October 2013 | Page 2

ecovoice

editoriaL
european-style taxes
to support recycling

sorin cristian Popescu
General manager
Romania has taken another step
towards good practices in
environmental protection by
passing amendments to Order
196/2005 for the implementation
of a tax on waste storage.
?ese taxes have already proved
their e?ciency in most European
countries where they have been
enforced for several years and have
led to a high level of waste recycling
and recovery because they
discourage waste storage.
Furthermore, the enforcement of
this tax will make the integrated
management of packaging waste
more responsible.
Taxes on waste disposal by storage
will be paid as of next year and will
grow gradually over a three-year
period until they reach a level
comparable with the existing one
across Europe. As of 2014, the tax
will be 50 lei/stored ton/waste
storage, it will grow to 80 lei/stored
ton/waste storage as of 2015 and
to 120 lei/stored ton/waste storage
as of 2016.
Romania has reported signi?cant
progress in waste recycling and
environmental protection over the
last ten years, but still has a lot to
do to catch up with other EU
member states. ?e revenue from
waste storage taxes can be used to
fund even more environmental
projects, such as the integrated
management of waste and site
decontamination.
By enforcing a smart waste
management system, companies
will not be a?ected by these taxes,
they will become more responsible
in what regards the environment
and will be even more motivated to
turn waste into resources.

2

i’ll collect separately… if i want to.
bogdan ?tef?nescu
separate collection operations manager

W

hen Romania decided to join
the European Union, the state
accepted and assumed a series
of conformity requirements. ?ese have the
role of increasing the degree of e?ciency
and organization at a social and economic
level, so that European integration can be
achieved without a?ecting the Union’s
balance.
In the area of packaging and packaging
waste as well, there are several recycling
and recovery targets set by a European
directive, which Romania accepted and
assumed by passing speci?c legislation.
?is law package must serve as guidelines
for an e?cient waste management system
in which every player involved has a very
well established place. In the area of
packaging waste generated by the
industrial and commercial ?ow, the
relations are established by demand and
o?er mechanisms, but the system is more
complex when it comes to householdgenerated packaging waste, with
economic, political and social implications.
?rough Eco-Rom Ambalaje, the industry
has taken the initiative to develop a
management system for packaging waste
generated by the population, by making
signi?cant investments in the waste
collection infrastructure and by backing
system operation costs. Local authorities of
over 400 townships have joined these
e?orts and have become actively involved
in supporting and developing these
systems. Massive investments in the

info

collection infrastructure were made from
European funds, by purchasing specialized
containers, as part of the Sectoral
Operational Programs ‘Environment.’
?ese new containers that have joined the
existing system should cover the entire
national need for collection capabilities.
?e presence of a separate collection
container in the vicinity of one’s home is
very important, but does not necessarily
guarantee the expected e?ciency level,
even if public awareness and information
campaigns are organized. ?e people’s
participation in the separate collection
system currently has a voluntary nature,
even though all citizens generate
packaging waste in their households.
Basically, as the recycling and recovery
targets grow bigger, a volunteer-based
participation rate will no longer be able to
guarantee the expected performance
guarantee for these systems (the collected
material’s market value is taken into
account when establishing the economic
balance of the collection system).
?is volunteer participation rate is also a
consequence of the sanitation service tari?s
per capita/household, which are currently
the same, regardless of the generated
amount of waste. ?ere is thus no
motivation to reduce the amount of waste
generated or to separate the generated
waste per type. To ensure the system’s
sustainability, regardless of the type of used
recipient (di?erent kinds of containers or
bags), it is necessary to implement speci?c
mechanisms that can determine the
population to behave responsibly in what
regards generated waste.

Highly e?cient systems around the world have demonstrated that the implementation of “Payt – Pay as you
?row” mechanisms leads to a substantial increase in the volume of collected waste, while also being
indiscriminate of the population’s living standards and consumption habits.