A new street phenomenon linked to Romania’s Deposit Return System (SGR) has emerged in the eastern city of Bacău, where people have begun approaching motorists stopped at traffic lights to ask for empty plastic bottles and beverage cans instead of money.
The practice was recently observed on Ștefan cel Mare Boulevard, one of the city’s busiest thoroughfares. A local resident filmed a man carrying a large collection sack as he walked between lanes of traffic during a red light, asking drivers for recyclable containers from inside their vehicles.
Under Romania’s Deposit Return System, consumers pay a refundable deposit of 0.50 lei for eligible beverage containers, which is returned when the packaging is brought to an authorized collection point. The scheme has significantly increased the value of used PET bottles, aluminum cans and glass bottles, encouraging their collection for recycling.
The financial incentive has also changed the behavior of some socially vulnerable people, who now search for recyclable containers in public waste bins, around supermarkets and, increasingly, by requesting them directly from motorists waiting at intersections.
While the system has contributed to higher recycling rates, the practice has raised road safety concerns. Walking between vehicles on active roadways may endanger both those collecting the containers and drivers, particularly when traffic lights change and vehicles begin moving.
Motorists have reacted differently to the requests. Some ignore them, while others hand over their empty bottles and cans, saying they intended to recycle them anyway. Others have expressed concern that such activity should not take place in the middle of traffic.
The scenes illustrate an unexpected social consequence of Romania’s Deposit Return System, with traffic lights in Bacău becoming informal collection points for refundable beverage containers.
