More than two million packages were returned by consumers in January through the Return Guarantee System, the Ministry of Natural Resources reports. The SGR system launched on November 30, the guarantee is 50 money. There were very few packs of SGR on the shelves in December, but after January 15th the number increased dramatically.

In the first month of operation – December 2023 – beverage manufacturers and importers released approximately 45 million packages under the SGR brand to the market. According to the Ministry of Environment, in January their number increased to approximately 180 million packages.

ReturRO’s reporting shows that 121 million plastic SGR packages, almost 32 million metal and 25 million glass were released to the market in January.

The record of SGR packaging collected in one day is held by the municipality of Bucharest, with more than 1,000 packages collected. At the same time, the RetuRO SGR team exceeded 100 employees. By the end of the year, the company plans to create about 600 jobs, the ministry said.

The return guarantee system (SGR) applies to one-time primary packaging made of glass, plastic or metal from 0.1 to 3 liters inclusive.

How to recognize the package for which we can get a guarantee? On the label, we should find the SGR logo, which says “Guaranteed packaging”. There are clear requirements in the regulations that the logo should not be too small.

Packages that are flattened, broken, compressed, with beverage residue or with a damaged label will not be accepted. We are not obliged to wash the packaging.

The guarantee was set at 50 cents, with the idea being high enough to encourage the consumer to return the package, but low enough not to be perceived as a large price increase. After 2-3 years, if the system works well, the warranty value can be changed.