PETnews 6 NEWS PETplanet Insider Vol. 23 No. 07+08/22 www.petpla.net Romania prepares for deposit return system Romania is on a rapidly approaching deadline to launch its deposit return system in October 2022 (in accordance with Government Decision 1074/2021), to align with the targets of the European Union’s Single-Use Plastics Directive and to tackle beverage container pollution. The Single-Use Plastics Directive requires member states to separately collect 77% of single-use plastic bottles with caps and lids by 2025, with an ultimate target of 90% by 2029. In October 2021, the Romanian government approved a decision regulating the deposit return system for single-use primary packaging, according to which consumers will pay a RON 0.50 (USD 0.11) deposit when they buy beverages from retailers. Consumers will receive their deposit back when they bring the empty beverage containers to one of the return points for recycling. Romania’s deposit return system will cover single-use beverage packaging in glass, plastic or metal, with volumes between 0.1 and 3 l. Reverse vending technology company for deposit return systems, Tomra, opened an office in Romania in 2021 and has a national service network ready to support stakeholders who will operate the return points. The first machines were installed in Romania starting in 2012 to support a voluntary project and since then have collected more than half a billion (571 million) plastic bottles, 63 million aluminium cans and 34 million glass bottles. Deposit return systems have already proven to be highly efficient: for example, the European average collection rate for plastic beverage bottles in countries without a deposit is 47%, whereas European countries with deposit systems collect 94% of eligible plastic beverage bottles. A number of states or countries have committed to update existing deposit return systems or develop new systems. www.tomra.com Circularix and Macquarie Group to build and operate PET recycling plants across U.S. HPC Industries LLC and Macquarie Group’s Commodities and Global Markets group have formed a joint venture to produce rPET. Under the name Circularix, the venture’s plans include building and operating five recycling facilities across the U.S. with a total annual production capacity of more than 275 million pounds of rPET resin. The first facility, located in Hatfield, PA, is expected to be operational by December 2022. Leon Farahnik is Chairman and CEO of Circularix. Alex Delnik, former CEO and founder of Verdeco Recycling, will serve as President and Chief Operating Officer. In addition to its investment as a partner in the joint venture, Macquarie is assisting Circularix with project debt, equipment finance, FX hedging and other risk management solutions to support its future growth. “Consumer brands are struggling to meet their sustainability goals as current rPET supply is unable to scale as needed,” Farahnik said. “Our move into rPET production is the beginning of a major and much-needed capacity expansion in the United States, and we are excited to continue playing an important role in the plastics recycling industry by uniting our experience with Macquarie’s.” Macquarie is a leading provider of risk management, market access and capital and financing solutions to the petrochemicals industry and has played a leading role in environmental product markets, sustainable infrastructure and the waste sector around the world for more than 15 years. Macquarie formed its Sustainable Waste Solutions team in 2020 to provide finance and growth capital solutions to clients in the waste sector, with a focus on helping facilitate the transition to a circular economy. www.macquarie.com
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