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Reform Support
Supporting structural reform in the waste management sector in Romania

Supporting reforms to transition to a green economy and fight climate change

Funding Programme
Structural Reform Support Programme (SRSP)
Year
2018

Supporting structural reform in the waste management sector in Romania 

The Commission supported Romania in reaching the EU targets on recovery and recycling of packaging and electronic waste. Furthermore the Commission developed recommendations to improve it, based on international best practices. The recommendations were at policy level but they also included a proposal for schedule and draft legal text needed for the implementation. 

Context 

Romania has implemented an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme for packaging waste since 2002 and since 2006, the WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) has worked in line with the Packaging Waste (PW) Directive and the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE).

However, it was struggling to reach the EU targets for collection and recycling for this type of waste, mostly due to gaps, lack of clarity, and conflicting provisions in the national legislation. The project had additional challenges, due to the fact that the ministry was without a minister for several months and due to stalled elections as well as the rise of Covid-19.  

Support delivered 

European investment Bank – Jaspers looked both within Romania, to assess the implementation and efficiency of the Romanian EPR schemes and internationally, looking at best practices in other Member States (notably Austria, Germany and Italy).  Combining these two streams of work, Jaspers provided a number of recommendations to the Romanian Ministry of Environment on how to improve its EPR schemes for packaging and electronic waste,

Among the recommendations is to create a clearinghouse to coordinate all the activities of the Producer Responsibility Organisations and a public body overseeing the implementation of the Extended Producer Responsibility schemes. 

Results achieved 

The project delivered a set of recommendations to the Ministry of Environment. Subject to other contributing factors, in the longer-term, this project should contribute towards improving waste management in Romania, by establishing an improved extended responsibility scheme (EPR) for specific types of waste.