From now on, we will pay a deposit of 50 bucks when we buy a drink in store, and then we will refund this money when the packaging is returned. Not all packaging will be included in the system and there are some conditions to receive the warranty. What is SGR and what do we need to know about it? What can’t we return? Why don’t we keep the booze in the bottles we return? How to recognize the package for which we can get a warranty?

Important information

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

• The warranty does NOT apply to 5-liter PET, milk cartons, oil bottles or various beverages in cartons. Therefore, these types of packaging are NOT covered by the warranty.

• We are NOT able to warranty bottles or PET that we have in our pantry or basement. Only packaging with the new SGR logo and a special bar code will enter the system.

• We will NOT find much SGR packaging in the first few weeks because there are still many drinks in stock in non-SGR packaging. The SGR packaging is expected to appear initially on fresh and short-term drinks. From January to February we will start to feel the difference, and from the summer of 2024 all the packaging will be in SGR.

• We will be able to return the packaging to any drinks retailer, from a small kiosk to the largest hypermarket, and we will receive a guarantee in the form of either cash or a voucher which can then be exchanged for cash in store. the cash register . In small retail chains, the guarantee will be received in cash, and in large retail chains there are machines from which we receive vouchers (which can be exchanged for cash at the checkout).

• Flattened, broken, compressed packages, in which the drink remains or with a damaged label, are NOT 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.

• How do we recognize packaging that we can claim a warranty for? 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.

• Currently, approximately 64,000 out of 80,000 potential business entities have registered on the Retur RO SGR platform, which is 80% of the total.

• Why should packaging no longer contain alcohol? Any remaining liquid in these containers affects their weight and there is a chance that they will be rejected by automated equipment when they are scanned and weighed.

• When returned, the label must be visible and intact as it will be printed with the SGR symbol and special bar code. In the absence of these identifying elements, the package is not covered by the warranty and cannot be accepted by the Warranty Return System.

• There was opposition among beverage manufacturers to the launch of SGR, attempts were made to delay it, and some succeeded. Beverage companies are forced to bear a number of additional costs related to system administration, recycling, bottle counting and packaging handling.

• The company ReturRO, which was created to administer the system, opened on November 27 the first center for counting and sorting beverage packaging in Boncida, Cluj County. Other centers will be opened in the future to reach 17 centers in the summer of 2024 with a total of 600 employees.

• According to a study by Green Environment Support, Romania is the 11th country in Europe to implement an SGR-type system, after Norway, Denmark, Germany, Belgium, Iceland, Estonia, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Latvia and Lithuania.

• In the future, if the SGR system “takes root” among Romanians, it can also be extended to other types of packaging.

• Environment Minister Mircea Fecet said the SGR “will be the second largest guarantee-return system in Europe after Germany’s, and it will certainly be the most modern”. He estimates that we will have more than 7 billion SGR containers on the market each year.

When new packaging arrives in stores and what we do with it

SGR products will gradually arrive on store shelves over a period of several months after the launch of the System on November 30, depending on the availability of non-SGR packaged products on the market.

Products in non-SGR packaging already in the warehouses of manufacturers or traders may still be sold until 30 June 2024. From July 1, 2024, it will no longer be possible to enter products subject to the SGR without a label with a specific logo and barcode.

Where do we return the package? At any collection point available by sellers, where customers will receive the warranty back without the need to present a tax receipt, even if the relevant product was not purchased at that location.

In stores where the packaging is removed manually, the buyer will receive a cash guarantee. In supermarkets where automatic container collection equipment is used most of the time, the customer returns the package to the machine (RVM) and receives a voucher that can be used in the store during purchases or exchanged at the checkout (or at a specially equipped point) for cash if the consumer does not want to use the warranty card only in this store.

Why was SGR needed?

Romania is very far from the targets set at the European Union level and the European average, with a recycling rate of approximately 11%-12% of municipal waste, compared to the European average of almost 50%.

The environment minister said Romania was in a very bad position compared to the rest of Europe, with one in ten PET going “at best to a recycling plant”. The system could make a difference so that 90% of PET is recycled.

ReturRO says the SGR is a tool that can increase beverage packaging waste collection targets and help Romania meet the targets of new European regulations that set high percentages. The set target for plastic collection is 77% by 2025 and 90% by 2029. In addition, SGR will provide manufacturers with access to rPET (recycled PET packaging) and is the solution to achieving the targets of 25% by 2025 and 30% by 2030 of packaging made from recycled materials

What happens to the SGR package after it is collected?

Collection centers will be organized by all traders regardless of their size. They will be required to organize a return point where consumers can bring the packaging, but the collection of the packaging must not block the trader’s core business. After collecting the packaging, the administrator of the guarantee-return system will be obliged to organize an efficient system that will receive the empty packaging as soon as possible in order to prevent agglomeration of the premises where the trader will store them.

The packages then go to collection centers, such as the one recently opened in Boncida, where they are not only counted, but also checked to determine which brands they belong to and know exactly what calculations to make.

The ReturRO collection center in Boncida, opened on November 27th, gives us a clear idea of ​​what the other centers will be like and what they will do

The center near Cluj has an area of ​​4,700 square meters and is equipped with advanced counting and sorting equipment. About 800 million beverage containers will be sorted here annually and sent to recyclers.

At the RetuRO center in Boncida, both manual and automatic beverage packaging will be transported using RVM-type equipment. Glass containers will be counted, broken and prepared for recycling. Metal (aluminum and steel) and plastic packaging will be counted, sorted and compacted for shipment to recycling facilities.

ReturRO is currently running a recruitment campaign for all 17 national centers with a target of approximately 600 employees by next summer, of which at least 500 will be working in sorting and counting centers across the country. At the first stage, 20 RetuRO employees will work in the Bonțida regional center.