5 Recycling Myths Romanians Still Believe
There are at least five deeply rooted recycling myths in Romania that make people believe their effort doesn’t matter. And yet, Romania recycles only 12% of municipal waste — almost four times less than the European average of 48%, according to Eurostat 2025.
The gap comes partly from infrastructure, partly from legislation — but also from misinformation, which we debunk below using real data.ale.
Myth #1: “Everything I throw in the recycling bin ends up in the landfill anyway.”
This is probably the most widespread — and most demotivating — myth in Romania. And it’s easy to understand why: many people have seen garbage trucks emptying both the yellow (recycling) and black (mixed waste) bins into the same vehicle.
The truth: The situation has changed significantly in recent years, especially in urban areas. The Deposit-Return System (DRS), launched in Romania in November 2023, is the clearest proof that separately collected packaging does reach recycling facilities.
In its first year, the DRS achieved an 84% collection rate, and in 2025 Romanians returned 2.4 billion containers in the first six months — one of the highest performances in Europe for a new system.
The “mixed waste” problem still exists in areas with poor infrastructure, especially rural communities. The solution is not giving up, but civic pressure: report such cases to the local municipality or the Environmental Guard.
Separate collection truly matters — every correctly collected package becomes raw material with real economic value.
To find the nearest selective collection point in your area, visit hartareciclarii.ro.
Myth #2: “Plastic is recyclable anyway, no matter the code.”
The three-arrow symbol on plastic packaging is misleading. Many consumers assume that any plastic marked with that symbol can be recycled without issues. Reality is far more nuanced.
The truth: There are 7 categories of plastic (codes 1–7), and not all are efficiently recyclable in Romania.
The easiest to recycle are PET (code 1) — water and soft drink bottles — and HDPE (code 2) — milk and detergent containers.
Plastic with code 6 (polystyrene) or code 7 (mixed materials) is, in most cases, practically unrecyclable here.
Globally, only 9% of all plastic ever produced has actually been recycled.
This is why the European PPWR (Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation — EU Regulation 2025/40, in force since 11 February 2025) requires all packaging placed on the EU market to be 100% recyclable by 2030 and to contain increasing percentages of recycled material.
For companies, this means something very concrete: if you place plastic packaging on the market, your legal obligations increase progressively.
As of 1 January 2025, the national recycling target for packaging waste increased to 65%, and the overall recovery target to 70%. Failure to meet these targets results in additional contributions to the Environmental Fund.
Myth #3: “I don’t need to rinse packaging — it gets cleaned at the factory anyway.”
Some people throw packaging away with food residues or liquids inside, assuming the industrial process will fix everything. Others wash them excessively, wasting water and time.
The truth: Both extremes are wrong. Packaging heavily contaminated with grease or food waste can compromise an entire batch of recyclable materials.
A single un-rinsed oil bottle can affect hundreds of kilograms of otherwise perfectly recyclable plastic.
On the other hand, you don’t need perfect cleanliness. A quick 10–15 second rinse under running water is enough for most packaging.
Exceptions include irreversibly contaminated items — greasy pizza boxes, oily bags — which belong in mixed waste.
European standards don’t require sterilization, just common sense.
Myth #4: “Recycling doesn’t make a difference — plastic production will increase anyway.”
“Companies pollute a thousand times more than I do, so what’s the point?”
It’s a common argument, especially among those frustrated by the lack of visible progress.
The truth: The impact of recycling is real and measurable.
Recycling one ton of plastic saves about 5,774 kWh of energy and reduces CO₂ emissions by up to 1.5 tons.
Recycling aluminum uses 95% less energy than producing it from raw materials — a massive difference at industrial scale.
Across Europe, the circular material use rate increased from 11.2% in 2015 to 12.2% in 2024, with the Netherlands leading at 32.7%, followed by Belgium (22.7%) and Italy (21.6%), according to Eurostat.
For companies, the economic argument is becoming stronger: PPWR requires plastic packaging to contain at least 30% recycled content by 2030 and 65% by 2040.
This creates real industrial demand for selectively collected material — meaning today’s collection infrastructure directly feeds tomorrow’s production chain.
Myth #5: “Romania will never reach EU targets — we’re too far behind.”
Romania’s circular material use rate was 1.3% in 2024, compared to an EU average of 12.2%.
Selective collection rates in rural areas remain extremely low.
The feeling that we’re too far behind is common — and at first glance, understandable.
The truth: The DRS has proven that rapid change is possible.
In less than two years after launch, Romania reached an 84% DRS collection rate in its first year, placing it in the European top 3 for deposit-return systems.
By August 2025, the monthly rate reached 94%.
Through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), Romania has 26 new recycling plants planned, funded with €220 million through the Environmental Fund, to be completed by 2026.
Infrastructure is coming. What is often missing is not willingness, but organization — both among citizens and among companies that either don’t know their legal obligations or haven’t yet chosen an accredited OIREP partner.
Conclusion: Why Knowing These Recycling Myths Matters
Every incorrectly discarded package is not just a missed recycling opportunity.
It is a cost borne by society: environmental taxes, EU penalties, wasted natural resources.
If you are a citizen: your actions matter.
Rinse the packaging, place it in the correct bin, return the bottle through the DRS — these small actions, multiplied by millions, are the raw material of the circular economy Europe aims to build.
If you are a producer, importer or distributor of packaged goods: you have legal obligations for packaging waste management, and these obligations increase every year.
Partnering with an accredited Extended Producer Responsibility organization (OIREP) allows you to meet your targets legally, transparently and without internal bureaucracy.
Reciclad’OR is the OIREP that does exactly this — we manage extended producer responsibility for companies across all sectors, through partnerships with authorized collection and recycling operators.
Reciclad’OR is one of the most important OIREP-type organizations in Romania, with expertise in responsibility transfer, collection and recycling, environmental consulting, and circular economy.
If you are a producer, importer, or retailer and want to understand how to efficiently fulfill your recycling responsibilities, we are here!
