Seven out of ten Romanians are returning all packaging with the SGR deposit-refund system symbol, and four out of ten are doing so to avoid losing the money paid as deposit, according to the findings of a survey published on Friday.

According to data gathered by Reveal Marketing Research, 19% of respondents said that they are currently returning only a part of the refundable packaging.

At the same time, 45% of the total respondents said they were satisfied with the way the deposit-refund system works, and 55% that increasing the number of collection places would be the main solution for improving it.

Overall, 70% of Romanians claim that they are returning all refundable packaging, an increase from 36% in November 2023.

Also, 39% of the respondents say that they have adopted this behaviour to avoid losing the deposit.

Generation Z, aged between 18-24 years, are the least concerned about returning the refundable packaging, 59% vs. 70% of total sample.

Moreover, urban dwellers differ from those in rural areas in that they return all SGR-stamped packaging to a significantly higher proportion (75% urban vs. 63% rural). The difference can be attributed to the reduced number or even the absence of collecting places in the countryside.

The Reveal Marketing Research findings show that plastic packaging the most frequently returned by Romanians (84%), followed by glass packaging (56%) and metal packaging (55%). By gender, men tend to return both metal packaging (62% men vs. 50% women) and glass packaging (61% men vs. 53% women) more often than women.

The survey was carried out online, between June 5 and 10, 2024, on a sample of 1,012 respondents, with a margin of error of +/-3.1% and a confidence level of 95%.

AGERPRES