Romania: Selective waste management? Pay me!

Most Romanians deem it is worthless to put effort in selectively collecting waste products just to have a clean environment and request to be recompensed for doing so, an IMAS study shows.

The study revealed selective waste management is a low-profile issue on the Romanian public agenda. As for the individuals' willingness to separate waste collected from households, few of the interviewees answered in favor.

The fact very few are willing to make an effort for a clean environment proves Romanians do not associate their personal welfare with the environment they live in, Environment Minister Attila Korodi said. Problems regarding environment are deemed to concern only the public authorities. However, Romanians admit they would be motivated to select waste by a system of rewards.

The study shows women are more prone to comply with the selective waste management, while men are motivated more by the negative effects of waste products upon the environment. Youngsters are more responsive to financial stimuli while old people perceive selective waste management more as a duty.

The study was conducted on 1,449 people from 115 towns and villages. Based on the study, the environment ministry launched a campaign to inform the public on selective waste management; it will last until November 15.

EU requires WEEE collection of 4kg per capita

The European Union required Romania to collect four kilograms of electrical waste and electronic equipment (WEEE) per capita by the end of next year, in line with the Union’s legislation.

EU countries are collecting on average six kilograms WEEE per capita this year and Romania’s target is set at three kilograms per capita for 2007. Producers and dealers of electronic equipment have to finance WEEE recycling, according to European legislation.

However, in Romania there are only 215 WEEE collection centers and only 145 are functional. Romania’s Recycling Association announced it will start collect WEEE from July 1, marking the first action of its kind in the country.

Romania needs to invest 3.8 billion euros in waste management, according to the environment minister. Moreover, the country has committed itself to gradually reduce the amount of wastage products by 2016 while by 2013 it needs to reach the global recycling target set at 55 percent.

Governmental Decision on the management of tyres proposed

On 18 July 2007 the Administration of Funds for Environment (Administratia Fondului pentru Mediu) drafted for the Romanian Government (Guvernul Romaniei) a project of Decision (Hotarare) that aims at regulating the management of tyres, under conditions that protect health and the environment. The draft provides that natural or legal persons may only place on the market new or remoulded tyres that are approved in accordance with the legislation in force. The provisions of the present decision do not apply to tyres intended for the initial equipping of vehicles within the field of application of Government Order no. 2406/2004 on end-of-use vehicles, with its subsequent amendments.

The project of Governmental Decision on management of tyres was drafted on 18 July 2007 and shall be adopted within a 90 day term. The draft is compliant with EU regulations and is providing that natural or legal persons introducing used tyres into Romanian territory are obliged use them in accordance with the criteria laid down in the notification document provided for in Council Regulation (EEC) no. 259/93 on the supervision and control of shipments of waste within, into and out of the European Community.
Natural or legal persons placing on the market new tyres, and natural or legal persons placing on the market remoulded tyres or used tyres intended for reuse or remoulding originating from outside of Romanian territory, are obliged to collect the used tyres, 80% of the quantity that they placed on the market during the previous year and ensure (Art. 5):
- reuse in accordance with the technical and operational safety conditions;
- remoulding in accordance with the conditions necessary for remoulding;
- recycling for operations to reinforce roads, dams, security barriers for roads, motorways, jetties, silos; or
- recovery.
The aforementioned obligations may be carried out through a transfer of responsibilities to a natural or legal person authorised by the Directorate for the Recycling of Materials within the Ministry of Economic and Financial Affairs (Departamentul pentru Reciclarea Materialelor din cadrul Ministerului Economiei si Finantelor). This person must:
- sort and store the used tyres collected separately in two categories: used tyres intended for reuse or remoulding and discarded used tyres.
- hand over the used tyres intended for reuse or remoulding to natural or legal persons who market used tyres intended for reuse or natural or legal persons who carry out remoulding;
- hand over discarded used tyres to natural or legal persons who carry out recovery activities under contract.
Natural or legal persons who carry out one or more of the activities of collection, remoulding and/or recovery of used tyres shall be obliged:
- to keep documented evidence on the quantity of used tyres collected, remoulded or recovered, where relevant;
- to retain the evidence stipulated above for a period of 3 years.
The objects of the legal proposal are:
- Tyres for motor vehicles with two or three wheels or similar (mopeds, motorcycles, motortrikes, quadbikes)
- Tyres for motor cars and other motor vehicles of a total maximum authorised weight of up to 3.5 tonnes, and for trailers.
- Tyres for motor vehicles of a total maximum authorised weight of over 3.5 tonnes, and for trailers and semi-trailers.
- Tyres for tractors, self-propelled works machines, agricultural machines and mobile non-road machines.
- Tyres for machines and equipment for construction and mining.

Impact

The company must be aware that obligations related to management of tyres differ function of the legal person’s use of tyres. Thus, businesses that market, following their placing on the market, new tyres, remoulded tyres and/or used tyres intended for reuse to end consumers, must obtain from the end consumer used tyres in the quantity in which they have been marketed and ensure adequate storage capacity for used tyres until the time of delivery. Legal persons placing on the market new tyres, remoulded tyres and/or used tyres intended for reuse or remoulding are obliged to report the following information to the Directorate for the Recycling of Materials within the Ministry of Economic and Financial Affairs by 15 March of each year, for the previous calendar year:
- the quantity of tyres placed on the market;
- the quantity of used tyres collected and handed over for reuse, recycling, remoulding or recovery, during the previous year.