In partnership with
Carrefour Romania
In partnership with
Carrefour Romania
A project about clear steps towards a new habit: recycling
Between 2021 and 2023, together with Carrefour Romania, we were part of "Pay with PET" — a campaign in which empty packaging became currency for Romanian fruits and vegetables.
The idea was simple: bring PET bottles, aluminum cans, or glass bottles, put them in a collection machine, and receive local products in exchange. And if the packaging was made of rPET (100% recycled plastic), you received two products instead of one.
The project was not just about recycling, but about habits. About the idea that packaging should not be thrown away, but reused. For many, the project was their first real contact with the circular economy. And for some, it was the beginning of a habit that has stuck.
Between 2021 and 2023, together with Carrefour Romania, we were part of "Pay with PET" — a campaign in which empty packaging became currency for Romanian fruits and vegetables.
The idea was simple: bring PET bottles, aluminum cans, or glass bottles, put them in a collection machine, and receive local products in exchange. And if the packaging was made of rPET (100% recycled plastic), you received two products instead of one.
The project was not just about recycling, but about habits. About the idea that packaging should not be thrown away, but reused. For many, the project was their first real contact with the circular economy. And for some, it was the beginning of a habit that has stuck.
Launched in 2019, "Pay with PET" was one of the most visible "eco-reward" projects in Romania. And when packaging becomes a currency, you start to see it differently: not as waste, but as a valuable resource.
But more important is what happens after the PET gets back into circulation: at the Coca-Cola HBC factory in Ploiești, PET bottles are turned into new bottles made from 100% recycled plastic (rPET), in an energy-efficient and low-emission process.
Although the "Pay with PET" project ended in 2023, it played an essential role: that of preparing consumers for the new Deposit-Return System (DRS), officially launched in Romania in November 2023.
And for us, this initiative was part of a broader vision: sustainable products, 100% recyclable packaging, and an ecosystem in which each actor—producer, retailer, consumer—has a clear role.
