Almost three quarters of Romanians (74%) reuse the shopping bags, 64% participate to recycling in one way or another, and 42% replace their cars or the public transportation with cycling or walking whenever they can, according to a study by iSense Solutions.

Moreover, most Romanians buy only the amount of food they need (72%), or donate the clothes, shoes, and electronics they no longer need (69%).

Among those who participate to recycling in one way or another, 97% do so at home and 60% at work. Among the materials the Romanians recycle the most, there are plastic (91%), paper (85%), batteries (82%), glass (74%), light bulbs (64%), aluminum (61%), oil (28%), composting household waste (28%), and drugs (14%).

Based on age, less than 40% of young people (under 35 years) plan to buy products from companies that are involved in protecting the environment (39% vs. 44% overall), and only 54% of them are recycling (vs. 64% of the total population). Moreover, 70% of young people plan to recycle in the coming year, compared to an overall average of 75%.

Almost all respondents (96%) believe that every person should be responsible for protecting the environment, the study also shows. However, 68% think that the state institutions should have this responsibility, and 56% believe that the private sector should be responsible for protecting the environment. Only 46% said this was the responsibility of NGOs or representative associations.

The study was carried out online on over 1,000 urban Romanians.

Romania produces little waste, but doesn’t recycle it

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com