Intervenția video a premierului Marcel Ciolacu la evenimentul de lansare a Sistemului de Garanție-Returnare

Marcel Ciolacu: Good morning! Dear Minister, dear CEO and President of RetuRO SGR, ladies and gentlemen, I am part of a generation that was taught not to waste the resources we had at our disposal. I remember how in my childhood we bought all the soccer balls with the money from the bottles that all the kids in that block of flats collected for days. But beyond these small benefits, I think the most important thing was that we had all adhered, consciously or not, to those principles related to responsibility and sustainability towards the environment. I think it is high time we return to these healthy principles. I am glad to be able to participate with you in the inauguration of the first regional packaging collection centre of Returo in Bontida, Cluj county. This event is all the more important as in just three days time the guarantee-return system will be launched in Romania. This is why I believe that today we are talking about a zero moment, because this first regional collection centre will officially mark the start of the national programme. It is a historic moment, which will mark the most ambitious circular economy project in Romania and the strength of the first functional public-private partnership. The current government together with the private sector managed to kick off perhaps the most important country project in this field, in the last 30 years. I want to congratulate the Environment Minister, Mr. Mircea Fechet for the determination to implement this system, but also the representatives of the private sector, producers and importers of drinks in SGR(guarantee - return system) packaging, because they understood that this is the best way to follow for a cleaner country and to have packaging in a sustainable way.
Ladies and gentlemen, the launch of the SGR will put Romania in a leading position in Europe in environmental protection and packaging management. The SGR in Romania will be the second largest such system in Europe, after Germany, from the perspective of the number of packages processed. At the same time we represent a global premiere, the largest integrated system of its kind, and we hope it will become a case study for governments around the world. As of November 30, Romanian citizens will join over 350 million citizens from all over the world who live in a country where there is a guarantee-return system. If we look at Europe, there are 13 countries currently that implemented the guarantee - return system (SGR) reaching a population of almost 145 million. In just three days, with the accession of Romania, there will be more than 163 million European citizens more careful with the environment in which they live. I am sure that you will detail all the benefits of this system. I want to tell you that in addition to a major cultural change, these collection centres will also have a direct economic impact.
Establishing Returo collection centers will create over 600 jobs by the end of next year and will stimulate similar investments in transport and recycling both horizontally and vertically. I can assure you that the Government will continue to strongly support such innovative initiatives in environmental protection and packaging management, but we cannot do it alone. I count on you in this effort, because only together can we give more coherence to this subject so topical and with medium and long term implications.
I congratulate once again the Environment Ministry and the private sector and I encourage them to continue in the period ahead this demarche necessary to all of us. I firmly believe that we can together turn Romania in a truly sustainable country. Thank you very much for the invitation.

Source: Gov