The circular economy can be a driver of economic growth because mineral resources, raw materials and inexhaustible resources derived from the circular economy are pillars of Romania's economic growth, Economy, Digitalisation, Entrepreneurship and Tourism Minister Daniel Zamfir said on Tuesday at a specialised conference.

'The mineral resource we have, raw materials and this inexhaustible resource derived from the circular economy are pillars of Romania's economic growth. (...) I firmly believe that the circular economy can be a driver of economic growth,' the minister said.

He requested to the representatives of the Circular Economy Coalition (CERC), which organised the second edition of the international conference 'The Circular Economy as a Competitive Advantage in the Construction Industry,' to put forward proposals for regulating the circular economy sector.

'I suggest you to consider schemes, whether state aid or mechanisms through which we can stimulate the functioning of this sector. It is a priority for me to ensure that all the resources available to the Ministry of the Economy are fully utilized. Therefore, I look forward to receiving both legislative and concrete proposals from you so that we can get things moving in this sector,' Daniel Zamfir underscored.

In this context, he mentioned that he had supported 'the idea of the circular economy for a very long time,' at least since becoming chairman of the Senate's Economic Committee seven years ago.

In his view, the market for secondary raw materials needs to be developed. 'The most important thing is not just collecting and recycling waste, ultimately, the recovered materials must be incorporated into production processes,' the Economy Minister pointed out.

He gave examples of good practices in the circular economy in the construction industry.

'There are two examples, two very large companies. One is Holcim, which developed the Prozid masonry binder, produced in Turda and incorporating 10% recycled concrete from demolition waste, which is extremely important. This also helps reassure NGOs, which are rightly concerned about construction waste being dumped in inappropriate places. The second example is the recycling plant developed by Constructii Erbasu, which has an annual capacity of processing 450,000 tonnes of waste from demolished buildings. These are two successful initiatives showing that the circular economy can bring investment and technological development, which ultimately benefit Romanian industry,' Zamfir said.

He added that he supports the recovery of raw materials from mining waste dumps.

'I am very interested in everything related to recovering raw materials that we can certainly find in mining waste dumps and lakes, in tailings ponds. Of course, this may not be related to the circular economy. I dare to believe that it is. There are mining waste dumps that have been lying on the outskirts of towns for decades, and specialists say that a range of rare metals needed by Romania and the planet can be recovered from them. In the Baia de Fier area, there are significant mining waste dumps where we could start extracting graphite after the middle of next year. And it is not just about graphite. We have mining waste dumps in the Remin Baia Mare area, Cuprumin and elsewhere,' Zamfir explained.

The second edition of the international conference 'The Circular Economy as a Competitive Advantage in the Construction Industry' is being held in Bucharest on Tuesday, organised by the Coalition for the Circular Economy (CERC).

The conference brings together policymakers, construction industry leaders and European experts to discuss legislative challenges, technological solutions and economic opportunities arising from the transition to circular and sustainable construction. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Cristian Anghelache; EN - writing by: Rodica State)