In Europe’s race to build more efficient circular economy systems, Romania has become one of the markets drawing the closest attention. What began as an ambitious national rollout has quickly turned into a case study watched by policymakers, producers, retailers and technology providers across the region. At Resource Recovery Summit 2026 in Bucharest , Romania’s Deposit Return System stood at the center of a wider conversation about what makes these systems work, and what other countries can realistically learn from them.