Romania will have a new tax on garbage starting January 1, 2016. Public sanitation companies will have to pay RON 80 (some EUR 18) for each ton of garbage they take to the landfills.

The tax will double by the end of the year, according to Romania’s Environment Minister Gratiela Gavrilescu.

“The tax should be very high, so we wouldn’t be tempted to gather garbage anymore,” she said, cited by local Mediafax.

She explained that the new tax will be introduced to align Romania to European norms which target 100% waste reuse.

In 2012, the recycling rate for waste in Romanian cities has been under 5%, in 2012, placing the country on the last places in Europe, according to a report by the European Environment Agency. Bulgaria had a recycling rate of over 25% and Germany is first with a recycling rate for municipal waste of over 60%.

editor@romania-insider.com