On World Environment Day — June 5 — Denise Deleanu, COO of Reciclad’OR, was the guest of the show “Vorbește Lumea” on PRO TV. In a direct conversation with Shurubel, she explained what happens to packaging after we recycle it, how the system works in Romania, and what we can actually do to recycle better.
Here is the summary of her appearance — and the answers to questions many of us have, but rarely receive.
“Everything gets mixed” — the most harmful recycling myth
One of the topics touched upon during the show was the myth that selectively collected waste ends up in the landfill anyway, all mixed together. This myth is one of the main reasons people give up on recycling: if it all gets mixed anyway, why bother?
Reality is different. Romania has a functional infrastructure for collection, transport, sorting, and recovery of packaging. Selectively collected packaging does not get mixed with household waste — it follows a separate route, from the dedicated sanitation truck to sorting stations and then on to recyclers.
The myth persists for several reasons: lack of visibility into this route, isolated negative experiences that become generalized, and a general mistrust in the system. But giving up on recycling because of a myth means taking tons of valuable materials out of the circuit every day.
What actually happens to your packaging
Denise Deleanu explained step by step the journey of packaging after collection:
- Separate collection — dedicated vehicles, different from those that collect household waste, pick up packaging from yellow bins or bags.
- Sorting station — mixed packaging (plastic, paper, metal, glass) is separated by material type, through a combination of technology and manual control.
- Baling — the sorted materials are pressed into compact bales and prepared for transport.
- Recycling — the bales arrive at recycling plants, where they become secondary raw material: recycled plastic granules, paper pulp, aluminum ingots, glass cullet.
- Second life — the recycled raw material enters production. A PET bottle today can become a new bottle, a sweater, or an auto part within a few months.
The mistakes we make at home — and how to correct them
A significant part of the appearance was dedicated to common collection mistakes. Good intentions are not enough if the packaging ends up contaminated or in the wrong fraction.
Common mistakes:
- Dirty packaging — washing with hot water is not necessary, but a container with large food residues contaminates the entire batch it belongs to
- Combined packaging — a yogurt container with the plastic spoon still inside, a cardboard box with the plastic window left in place: they need to be separated by fraction
- Plastic bags in the plastic bin — the bag itself is packaging and can be recycled, but not as a container for other packaging
- Receipts and thermal paper in the paper bin — thermal paper is not recyclable; it goes to household waste
- Crushed plastic bottles without the cap — the cap is valuable and gets recycled; leave it on the bottle
The simple rule: empty, relatively clean, in the correct fraction.
How the OIREP system works in Romania
Denise Deleanu also explained the mechanism behind the entire system: Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), implemented through OIREPs.
Under European law transposed into Romanian legislation, any company that places packaging on the market — from consumer goods manufacturers to importers — is responsible for what happens to that packaging at the end of its life. In practice, companies transfer this responsibility to an authorized OIREP, which manages the entire chain: contracts with sanitation operators, financing sorting and recycling, reporting to authorities.
Why education matters — not just infrastructure
A central message from the appearance on “Vorbește Lumea” was that infrastructure exists, but it is not enough without correct behavior. Romania has invested in sorting stations, collection networks, and recycling capacities. But the performance of this infrastructure depends directly on the quality of the material that enters it.
A contaminated or incorrectly sorted batch reduces the quality of the secondary raw material and, implicitly, its value. Efficient recycling is not just a collective effort at the system level — it is an individual effort, at the level of every household, every day.
This is why education for correct recycling is part of Reciclad’OR’s mission — not as a communication obligation, but as a functional condition of the system we manage.
Full interview — video
Watch Denise Deleanu’s complete appearance on “Vorbește Lumea”, PRO TV:
Reciclad’OR is one of the largest OIREPs in Romania, managing extended producer responsibility for packaging. We connect producers with the entire collection, sorting, and recovery chain — for a real circular economy.ând responsabilitatea extinsă a producătorului pentru ambalaje. Conectăm producătorii cu întregul lanț de colectare, sortare și valorificare — pentru o economie circulară reală.
