A factory with a capacity of 80,000 tonnes per year, one of the largest investments in glass recycling in the region, of a value of approximately EUR 7.4 million has opened in Buzau.

According to the investor, the project is a milestone for the circular economy infrastructure and one of the most important recent investments in the development of glass recycling faciliies in Romania and South-Eastern Europe.

'The factory inaugurated by ABS 2000 in Buzau adds a capacity of 80,000 tonnes per year at a time when the circular economy is moving from objectives and strategies to concrete industrial investments. The new ABS 2000 facility processes post-consumer glass and transforms it into a secondary raw material ready to be reintroduced into the economic circuit and used by industry. With a capacity of up to 80,000 tonnes of glass per year, the factory contributes to the development of the necessary infrastructure to capitalise on a significant volume of post-consumer glass and to the consolidation of the circular chain between collection, sorting, processing and the production of new packaging,' the investor, ABS 2000, says in a press release.

The factory was built with support from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRR), through the Administration of the Environment Fund.

'This investment means much more than a new factory. It means an industrial facility built for the future of the circular economy. With the 80,000 tonnes of glass that can be processed annually, we create the premises for the capitalisation on a significantly larger scale of a resource that must remain in the economy. We need strong infrastructure, technology and partnerships for recycling to work efficiently. This is the direction in which we invest and in which we believe', says ABS 2000 Buzau CEO Serghei Balica.

The investment will contribute, among other things, to the development of glass recycling, strengthening the circular economy infrastructure, the transformation of post-consumer glass into a quality secondary raw material, the reduction of waste disposed of by landfilling and increased regional cooperation among Romania, Moldova and Bulgaria. AGERPRES (RO - editing by: Florin Zafiu; EN - writing by: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu)