Program for the construction of 26 recycling factories

The Administration of the Environmental Fund will finance, with 200 million euros - funds allocated from PNRR -, the construction of 26 new recycling factories in our country, said, on Friday, Laurenţiu Neculaescu, the president of the public institution, during the conference "Spring cleaning in Romania", organized by DC Media Group.

The minimum eligible value is 500,000 euros/project and the maximum eligible value is 8,400,000 euros/project.

Laurenţiu Neculaescu stated: "We have funding programs for waste recycling. This year is the first time that the Environment Fund Administration is launching a program on new recycling capacities at the level of Romania. Through this program generically called Recycling Factories, we hope at the end to have 26 new waste recycling capacities on the territory of our country. The program has been launched, it is a program that addresses the private environment, SMEs. Between May 16 and August 14, we are waiting for all companies that are interested in participating in this program, to submit their projects and applications. (...) The beneficiary of the state aid must ensure a financial contribution of at least 25% of the eligible costs. The eligible expenses under this program consist of the expenses for the realization of the constructions necessary for the location and installation of the machines, installations and equipment purchased with all equipment and expenses for the purchase of intangible assets. Importantly, projects that wish to finance only preparatory activities such as sorting for recycling are not eligible. Under this funding axis, those who want to achieve the circular economy objective and obtain a finished product from the raw material resulting from recycling are eligible for funding and we will also grant funding for the production line if it uses at least 50 % of the raw material resulting from the recycling factory".

Regarding recycling, during the same event, the Minister of the Environment, Mircea Fechet, stated that the stores will be obliged to take the packaging manually if the machines do not work and to offer the value of the pets at the checkout.

Mircea Fechet said: "We are already working on a draft government decision in which we specify very clearly that, to the extent that the RVM, as these automatic devices are called, does not work, the respective store is obliged to manually take those packaging. In other words, we go, do our shopping or not necessarily, and at the cash register we also leave empty wallets and receive 50 cash or the respective amount is deducted from the value of the purchases. It is something that I will write in the government decision so that it is clear for everyone".

Asked about the situations in which the population buys products and then leaves the packaging in the trash, without collecting larger quantities, the Minister of the Environment stated that in large cities in other countries, where there is a guarantee-return system, he found that in short some time after the packaging is abandoned, another person comes who needs that guarantee and uses the packaging.