The Romanian Association for Recycling RoRec – the active player in environment protection. Interview with Mr. Liviu Popeneciu, president of RoRec

The Romanian Association for Recycling RoRec is a collective, not-for-profit organization, actively providing the reliable management of electrical waste to the benefit of a significant part of the electrical and electronic equipment industry in Romania. It has signed up to measurable commitments, in order to show solidarity and full responsibility, as a trustworthy partner, and supporting Romania fulfil its EU obligations as Member State, and reach its objectives in the complex field of environment protection.

R: What are RoRec’s plans for the future?
LP:
In order to achieve our main objectives, the RoRec Association envisages actions leading to the creation of an efficient WEEE take-over and recovery network that would operate at national level, in line with the legislation in force and with the objectives of the National Strategy and of the National Waste Management Plan, in a way that is safe for the environment and for people’s health. This implies using the best methods and technologies available locally and abroad, as well as identifying and implementing efficient cost management procedures
The transfer of responsibility by the affiliated members, the producers, under the existing law, makes the RoRec Association’s main task to be the construction and operation of a functional WEEE management system, working together with the municipalities, the distributors and other stakeholders involved in the collection and recycling of this type of waste.
We are focusing on three important tasks up to the end of 2011. Firstly, we are working to implement efficient operational systems, so that the costs of WEEE management in 2011 get close to the European average within the WEEE Forum, whilst the visible fee for most categories of electrical and electronic equipment shall be eliminated next year. Then, we have to balance the position on the WEEE market with the one the industry represented has on the profile market for the distribution of new products. Finally, WEEE management performances in Romania must be comparable with those at EU level, in compliance with Directive 96 and other applicable legislation.
However, a prerequisite for achieving these goals, and also ensuring that the system functions smoothly, surely is the efficient working together with all the actors involved – producers, local and central authorities, environment NGOs, collection operators, recyclers. Each participant in the process must meet the obligations set in the Community aquis and transposed into national legislation.

R: What is the role of each of the actors above?
LP:
Let’s start from the beginning. To be able to recycle, we first need an efficient collection system for the WEEE. There is a large quantity of WEEE out there that cannot be collected and recycled as it should be – that’s the reality. This is mainly due to the circumstances under which WEEE collection activities are currently run, including all players involved in the recycling process, whether they are visible or not for the authorities. You can see the flows in the chart below – as well as the main actors, each with their positive or less positive contribution.

Talking now about the “consumer”, we should also mention the slow change of attitude regarding responsibility towards the environment, especially when it comes to WEEE, because spontaneous discarding from private households is still at a low level.
On the other hand, what is the responsible citizens to be told, when willing to to bring old equipment to dedicated drop-off centres, but there is no adequate infrastructure? It’s more and more often that we hear: ’I want to get rid of this stuff, what should I do with it? Sanitation workers won’t take it.“ For most consumers, the ‘Do not throw away’ sign means nothing. Unfortunately, many people do not know that it is forbidden by law to throw WEEE into the dustbin. Could perhaps municipalities play an active role in this field in Romania, as it happens everywhere else in Europe? Would clear communication on household waste collection rules help people understand what they have to do? And why?
Actually, the municipalities’ involvement in the organized ‘capture’ of the waste flow from the citizen, by creating an accessible public service, would be not only a social responsibility civic act, but would also offer an easy-to-use system for discarding such waste. We have high expectations for the new law on the municipalities’ obligation to reduce by at least 15% the quantities of collected municipal and similar waste as of July 1st, 2010. One of the ways to achieve this is to collect waste of small appliances separately, given the fact that they are the most likely to end up in the dustbin, together with the kitchen waste.
Of course, this process largely depends on two factors: creating the necessary infrastructure for selective collection (drop-off centres with adequate containers), and then carrying out information and awareness-raising campaigns, in order to persuade citizens to use this infrastructure. Our role is to offer effective support to municipalities, given RoRec’s experience in the area of collection and picking up electric waste for recycling and recovery purposes.
So, we may say, the central authority could also play an essential role in this process, as its tasks include the identification, verification and control of WEEE flows, so that significant quantities may become visible. Both in the area where it is generated, and throughout the flow, including the areas controlled by informal operators who do not comply with the minimum treatment and recycling requirements and who, therefore, represent a real danger for the environment.
In addition, we can see how the flow generated in private households is diminished by the quantities that are ‘leaked’ in the informal channels (see chart 1), which makes it harder to reach the country ‘visible’ collection target, meaning 4 kg WEEE / inhabitant / year.

2009 in figures

R: Could you please tell us about collecting activities in 2009? What channels did you use and which of them proved most efficient? How about recycling?
LP:
In 2009, the RoRec Association accepted influx of waste from various WEEE-generating sources, the most significant being distributors, retail networks, our own drop-off centres, the area operators and auxiliary collection by treatment and recycling operators. In 2009, the RoRec Association took back over 18 thousand tons of electric waste, meaning about 62% of the total real and traceable quantities collected from individual households, while the share of the next ranking collective scheme covered approximately 30% of the market. Given the fact that 67% of the collected electric waste is made up of the large domestic appliances, including cooling equipment, we may say that the RoRec Association has joined the club of the ‘heavy weight’ players within the collective schemes in Europe, to which the major European manufacturers are affiliated.
The transport procedures, as well as the flow of primary documents that reflect the waste’s itinerary from take-over to reception by treatment plants, allow for detailed management of quantities entering the system. Over 80% of the waste is fully listed, while the rest of taken-over batches are sampled at the reception point, through delegates, using statistic methods validated in the WEEE Forum practice, so that collection flow traceability is higher than 95%.
The quantities handed over to authorised treatment and recycling plants in 2009 come up to a total of approximately 15 thousand tons and the waste stocks accumulated at the end of last year have been processed at the beginning of 2010. Handing over waste to be treated and recycled is a continuous process and the orders placed with various authorised plants differ according to the available capacity, seasonal collection and tariffs. Processing is done in batches and the frequency varies from one recycler to the other, resulting in waste stocks that are waiting to enter the production process.

From planning to results

R: And yet collection levels in Romania in 2009 are below the target set by EU legislation. Which are the actions carried out by the RoRec Association in order to reach national targets?
LP:
Although the RoRec Association represents an important percentage of the industry, it is not only up to us to reach national objectives. As shown before, there are more actors, each with their role, and we must harmonise our efforts and resources. As for RoRec, I can tell you which actions are included in our operations plan until 2012.
One major step is developing and consolidating our own take-back infrastructure for collected waste, in order to have direct contact with the consumers, through local solutions, in partnership with municipalities, through retailers and area operators. In addition, we pay attention to the development of regional infrastructure, in order to optimise the waste flows and logistics costs.
We also aim to optimize transport activities at national level, improving the service quality to the benefit of citizens and partners and using efficient means in the interaction with the customers, to encourage them to become responsibly involved in WEEE topics and to stimulate the flow from private households.
We are constantly working to diversify the circle of operators that are specialized in WEEE treatment and recycling, in compliance with the standards and performance requirements and according to WEEE Forum practices, and to have technological audit procedures implemented by treatment, recycling, sampling and collecting operators by transposing WEEE Forum success methods and procedures.
Although the size of the RoRec Association’s activities is conditioned by the waste market in Romania, the past years’ experience allows us to forecast a strong positive trend for the next two years, if these elements are implemented: collection levels of over 70% in 2011 and up to 73% in 2012.

The local authorities: strategic partners

R: When do you think that we will have a system of drop-off centres in Romania, like those in Western countries, where we can hand over this equipment and be sure that it is recycled and not scrapped?
LP:
From our point of view… we should have it at the end of next year. Ever since it was set up in 2007, the RoRec Association has been working with the municipalities who have by law a very important role and mission. The Government Emergency Ordinance 78/2000 on WEEE (republished) says that the municipalities must ensure selective collection and provide the piece of land needed for selective waste collection and adequate information for the citizens regarding the waste management system.
The municipality is therefore an active participant in this complex process, one of the key actors when it comes to reaching the WEEE collection and recycling country target Romania has committed to as EU Member State.
The RoRec Association has paid special attention to the missing links in the current collection system and has strived to understand local realities, and so it created a ‘partnership for municipality’ model in order to organise and operate municipal drop-off centres meant to channel the flow of waste EEE from private households. At the end of 2009, the RoRec Association had already signed ten such agreements, in partnership with the local authorities in Alexandria, Ciolpani, Focsani, Galati, Resita, Sacalaz, Sinaia, Tulcea, Valenii de Munte and Voluntari. New partnerships were established at the beginning of 2010 in Bistrita, Brad, Calarasi, Hunedoara, Targoviste, and 20 other agreements are being prepared.
Our programme for construction and management of the drop-off centres in partnership with municipalities aims to set up a national network of approximately 100 locations, in communities of more than 40,000 inhabitants.

R: Is this something RoRec has to do?
LP:
Indeed, the RoRec Association project goes further than the limits set by the legislation for its obligations. However, it is one of the main activities included in the 2010 – 2012 operations plan in order to reach the objectives it committed to. And again, unless we assist collection, we’ll have little to recycle.
The national network of WEEE drop-off centres set up in partnership with municipalities is therefore one of the RoRec Association‘s major projects, and it is in fact a platform for direct interaction with the public.
These centres allow for information and awareness-raising programmes, education activities dedicated to pupils and students in the area covered by each centre, and implementation of collection campaigns on controlled routes, which optimizes the waste flow from private households and institutions. They also offer call-centre services for picking up large appliances from domiciles. The project includes equipment and financial resources for setting up and organising drop-off points in partnership with the municipality, as well as for running information and awareness-raising campaigns.
Last but not least, the RoRec drop-off centres set up in partnership with muniicpalities represent a public service offered to all those responsible people who wish to play an active part in environment protection.
We are very happy to see that an ever increasing number of local authorities show their interest in this programme and more and more citizens answer to our ‘invitation to recycling’.
Interview by Andreea Idriceanu Calev