More than 1.3 billion packages have been collected through the Guarantee – Return System (SGR) until now, but I feel obliged to admit that the system still has dysfunctionalities, declared, on Thursday, in a press conference, the Minister of the Environment , Waters and Forests, Mircea Fechet.

„Not long ago, we celebrated the one billionth PET. Today, we have already collected over 1.3 billion packages through the Guarantee-Return System and we hope to announce the two billionth package very soon. Tens of thousands tons of packaging end up where they need to, namely in the recycling factories and we read almost weekly news related to the expansion of the capacities of raw material recyclers, either PET, glass or aluminum, something that makes us happy because it means new investments, new jobs and technologies attracted to Romania. We enjoy the benefits of the Guarantee-Return System, in the sense that we will leave a cleaner country than we found it. Already, on the side of the roads, on the water courses, in forests and in nature, in general, we see fewer PETs,” said Fechet.

He added that a thematic control started at a number of economic operators was also extended to the RetuRO company.

„Beyond all this good news, I feel obliged to admit that the system still has certain dysfunctionalities that we are obliged to remedy. For this reason, together with colleagues from the National Environmental Guard and colleagues from the National Authority for Consumer Protection, we had a thematic control in July until August, in which many economic operators were checked. Last but not least, the control was extended to the company RetuRO, which was also fined , but we are trying to convey this message, namely the one related to all the rigor, to all the obligations that each of us has, regardless of whether we are citizens, whether we are a larger or smaller trader, whether we are producers or whether we are company representatives RetuRO, where the Romanian state, through the Ministry of the Environment, Waters and Forests, has 20% of the shares,” the official also said.

The minister pointed out that one of the biggest dysfunctionalities of the SGR refers to the refusal of rural merchants to take over the packaging from the client, even though they have charged a guarantee of 0.5 RON

According to the minister, starting on Thursday, August 22, citizens who face problems in the SGR case can send complaints to the phone number 0726.715.142, directly on Whatsapp.

AGERPRES