Collection Systems in Romania 🇷🇴
About
Romania uses a color-coded container system with Yellow for packaging, Blue for paper, Green for glass, and Brown for bio-waste. Since 1 Jan 2025, municipalities must ensure separate textile collection and household hazardous waste collection. A deposit return scheme (SGR RetuRO) operates for beverage containers.
Collection Streams
Plastic & Metal Recycling (Yellow)
What goes in:
- Mostly packaging: PET bottles, detergent/cosmetics bottles, clean film/bags, food trays; metal cans/tins, caps/lids, foil
What does NOT go in:
- Composite plastic–metal products, polystyrene insulation, chemical containers with residues, medical waste (e.g., syringes), batteries, electronics
Notes:
- 'Packaging only' is the safest rule nationwide, but some local rules also allow small household plastic/metal objects (local variation)
- Items should be emptied and ideally rinsed/flattened; if you can't clean it, it usually goes to residual
Paper & Cardboard (Blue)
What goes in:
- Paper/cardboard packaging (boxes, cartons, paper bags) + clean paper (newspapers, magazines, notebooks)
What does NOT go in:
- Wet/greasy/food-soiled paper, used tissues/napkins (often), waxed/plastic-coated paper, heavily contaminated paper
Notes:
- Keep paper clean and dry
- Beverage cartons (Tetra Pak) are a major local variation: some municipalities put them in blue, others in yellow
Glass Recycling (Green)
What goes in:
- Glass packaging only: bottles, jars, some cosmetic glass
What does NOT go in:
- Window glass, mirrors, ceramics/porcelain, crystal, heat-resistant glass (e.g., 'yena'), bulbs/lamps, car glass/windscreens
Notes:
- Empty and rinse; remove caps
- If broken, many operators advise treating it as non-packaging/safety issue (wrap and place in residual) unless local rules say otherwise
Bio-waste / Organics (Brown)
What goes in:
- Typical accepted bio: fruit & veg scraps (raw/cooked), bread/cereals, coffee grounds/tea (often incl. tea bags), eggshells, small garden waste (leaves/grass), sawdust, wood ash only if burning just wood
What does NOT go in:
- Often NOT accepted: meat/fish, bones, dairy, oils/fats, whole eggs, pet feces, diapers; coal ash; chemically treated/painted wood; pesticide-treated garden waste; plastics
Notes:
- Bio rules can be stricter than people expect (many Romanian guides exclude meat/dairy/oils)
- Keep it free of plastic bags
- Availability is uneven: some operators still collect organics with residual ('wet fraction')
Residual Waste (Black/Grey)
What goes in:
- Non-recyclable household waste, e.g. dirty/contaminated items; diapers & sanitary products; cigarette butts; vacuum dust; pet waste; very dirty single-use items
What does NOT go in:
- Separate recyclables (paper/cardboard, plastic/metal, glass); WEEE, batteries, bulky items, construction rubble/soil, hazardous waste, medicines
Notes:
- If a municipality has a brown bio bin, many food/garden scraps should go there instead; if not, food waste usually stays in residual
- Always follow the bin label/operator guidance
Deposit Return Scheme (SGR RetuRO)
What goes in:
- Single-use beverage containers with SGR marking, made of PET / glass / metal, 0.1–3 L, returned empty and intact to a return point to recover the 0.50 lei deposit
What does NOT go in:
- Containers without SGR logo, outside size range, or too damaged/unreadable for return
Notes:
- This is separate from municipal collection
- If you don't return them, they are still recyclable in the correct bin—but you lose the deposit
What Gets Collected
Accepted Items
- • Packaging materials (varies by stream)
- • Empty and clean containers
- • Material-specific items
Not Accepted
- • Non-packaging items
- • Contaminated materials
- • Hazardous containers with contents
Regional Variations
Collection systems in Romania may vary by municipality or region. Local sorting capabilities, collection infrastructure, and acceptance criteria can differ significantly even within the same country.
Important Notes
Since 1 Jan 2025, municipalities must ensure separate textile collection and household hazardous waste collection
Bio-waste rules vary significantly by municipality—many exclude meat/dairy/oils from bio-waste
The deposit return scheme (SGR RetuRO) is separate from municipal recycling—return eligible containers for a refund
Collection methods vary by municipality—always check local guidance
Some Romanian systems are still effectively 2 fractions: wet/residual vs dry/recyclable—follow the operator's instructions
Sources
Collection system information is based on national and regional guidelines. For the most current and location-specific information, consult local waste management authorities.