The Romanian Government has approved an Action Plan promoting the Circular Economy as part of the National Strategy for the Circular Economy (NSCE). The action plan sets out a national vision for speeding up the transition to a circular economy, with measures geared to the nine economic sectors with the greatest potential for circularity in Romania's economy: agriculture and forestry; automotive; construction; food and beverages; packaging; textiles; electrical and electronic equipment; waste; water; wastewater.
The action plan has a cross-sectoral strand including promotion activities and a monitoring platform. It also stipulates 52 priority measures scheduled to be rolled out between 2024 and 2032.
The Romanian Strategy for the Circular Economy (NSCE) is a roadmap for accelerating Romania's transition from a linear to a circular economic model. The implementation of the Action Plan (to be adopted in September 2023) will provide a framework for this transition. The strategy gives an overview of the fourteen economic sectors, and identifies the following as having the greatest circular potential:
agriculture and forestry
automotive sector
construction
consumer goods (food and beverages)
packaging (glass, paper, plastic materials etc.)
textiles
electrical and electronic equipment.
The overall objective of the NSCE is closely linked to the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations' 2030 Agenda.
remesh is a socio-professional business workshop with an environmental impact. Most of its employees are women from disadvantaged background. The workshop is also providing a circular economy business model as they reuse advertising banners and meshes to make new products that are fashionable but sustainable.
ROCESP members include local and central government institutions, academic, research and innovation institutions, businesses and civil society representatives.
The platform acts as a network of networks, bringing together initiatives, experiences, problems and expectations in the field of the circular economy.
The platform:
disseminates knowledge
promotes dialogue and synergies between Romanian stakeholders
maps good practices in Romania
helps establish links between national projects
shows how Romania has adapted its economy to become more circular.
Under the framework of the INSIGHT project, a Blueprint has been developed to provide specific recommendations on how to promote the application of Industrial Symbiosis and its facilitation to various stakeholders, as well as a roadmap of how the organisations are expected to apply the IS principles, by making use of educational specific inputs and resources.
The Danube Goes Circular is a platform set up under the Interreg MOVECO project which ran from December 2016 to August 2019. The platform aims to promote awareness of and engagement in the circular economy, and involves sixteen partners from the ten Danube countries.
There is a marketplace for reusable materials, designed to match up supply and demand for waste and reusable materials and products meet in order to foster eco-innovation in the Danube region.
The platform provides information on how to extend a product’s useful lifecycle as well as on legal requirements and corporate good practices linked to the promotion of the circular economy. The toolbox section includes fact sheets for SMEs.
SIGUREC was the most advanced household waste collection service operating in Romania until March 2020. It was a broad initiative, implemented following an official agreement between private companies and public authorities.
There are not many eco-friendly products on the Romanian construction market, so there was definitely a niche in the thermal insulation market. LanaTerm uses sheep's wool to create thermal insulation for buildings.
CERC promotes the key objectives of the Circular Economy Action Plan in Romania, encouraging the development of new markets and business models, and contributing to economic growth and job creation.
It does this by:
producing studies on waste management
setting up partnerships with national and international bodies with a view to establishing programmes geared to implementing circular principles
organising events to promote the exchange of knowledge and good practices
communicating with local and central authorities on how the circular economy can benefit Romania's economy
promoting compliance with waste management rules, including the fields of recycling, reuse and alternative fuels
promoting the EU recommendations on green public procurement
