Penny Romania invests 21.2 million euro in recycling scheme

When shoppers buy packaged goods or drinks, they pay a deposit on top of the cost of the item itself. When they return their bottles or other packaging to the store, they get their money back. Starting November 30, the price of the sold drinks marked with the deposit scheme symbol includes a deposit of of 0.5 lei ($0.1/0.1 euro) for each package.

All Penny stores in the country now have reverse vending machines which allow customers to recycle plastic, glass and metal packaging, Penny Romania said in a press release.

The investment was made in partnership with Romanian recycling company TOMRA and Swedish reverse vending machine maker RVM Systems, the retailer said.

The DRS is implemented by RetuRO Sistem Garantie Returnare, a company established by a consortium formed by three private shareholders – the Brewers of Romania Association, the Association of Soft Drink Producers for Sustainability and the Association of Retailers for the Environment – ​​and a public shareholder, the Romanian state, through the ministry of environment, waters and forests.

($=0.927585 euro)