A Romanian Zero Waste Strategy: Salacea and Cociuba Mare Case Study

Romania ranks among top countries in Europe with the lowest amount of waste produced, 261 kg/capita/year, compared to the northern countries, that generate almost double the amount of waste. However, it performs poorly in the recycling sector and waste management although significant amounts of money have been invested over the last 10 years. The paper presents 2 pilot projects regarding the implementation of a waste collection system in two small communities in the Northern of Romania that agreed to adopt and implement the Zero Waste Strategy towards to a Circular Economy. After only three months, the communities managed to reduce over 50% of their waste, the local collectors were able to collect 60% of the remaining waste separately, on 4 different streams of recyclable materials, sending for recycling more than 40% of them. The success was based on sorting and separate source collection and on the extensive education of the population.