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A significant number of local administrations risk being fined by regulatory authorities due to their inability to create a functional system for collecting and reusing textile waste, from consumer to resource stage. This is the conclusion of the analysis The Overview of Textile Waste Management in Romania, conducted by the Harta Reciclării program of the Viitor Plus association, in collaboration with the Ecoteca association. The study is part of the awareness campaign Muntele de Haine, supported by ING Bank Romania.
The separate collection of textile waste has become mandatory in Romania, starting from January 1, 2025. More than a year after municipalities were required to implement the collection system, from consumer to recycler, it functions in certain localities, but is nearly or even non-existent in many other cities across the country. The analysis, conducted nationally by Viitor Plus and Ecoteca, shows that the collection infrastructure has been implemented in most cities; however, the subsequent journey of clothing - sorting, preparing for reuse, recycling, incineration, disposal - remains largely opaque and often depends on punctual initiatives or partnerships with NGOs. According to industry estimates, only 6–8% of collected textiles actually get reused or recycled, while the rest end up being incinerated or landfilled.
Collection exists, but the system remains fragile
Data was collected by Ecoteca through a questionnaire sent to local authorities in Romania. Responses were received from only 32 local administrations[1], and this data shows that 87.5% of respondents have implemented a formal system for the separate collection of textiles. On the other hand, the infrastructure and performance vary considerably from one city to another. In the first 10 months of 2025, the responding administrative units reported 2,190 tons of separately collected textile waste; however, indicators suggest still low participation from the population. The average is only 0.25 kg of textiles collected per inhabitant.
The figures reflect only part of the overall picture: many cities that did not report data either have not implemented the textile collection infrastructure, or have collection points serving dozens or even hundreds of thousands of residents, or hold one or two short collection campaigns per year.
“The first steps in textile waste management have been taken, but this is only the beginning. A fully functional system needs the support of all stakeholders involved – consumers, producers, textile traders, collection, sorting, and recycling companies, local authorities, legislators. If we truly want to reduce the ‘Mountain of Clothes’, we must all get involved to develop the entire chain, from prevention and reuse to recycling,” says Mihail Tănase, communication consultant, Harta Reciclării.
“The theme of textile waste is very complex, for which solutions for collection and valorization are still limited. That is why a campaign like Muntele de Haine is even more important, and this report helps us understand where we are and what we need to do next. At ING, the circular economy is the solution that complements efforts to adapt to climate changes and energy transition; we are engaging funding in this direction, but we are also aware of the impact that each of us can have on this environmental issue: to extend the life of textiles, to give them utility again, and to direct them responsibly when they are no longer useful to us,” declares Alexandra Maier Ranetti, Sustainability Manager, ING Bank Romania.
The Overview of Textile Waste Management in Romania also highlights other systemic blockages that limit the performance of the system, from the lack of traceability of textile waste after collection, reduced sorting and recycling solutions, to contamination of collected textiles as a widespread phenomenon, and the absence of an extended producer responsibility (EPR) scheme for textiles, which would financially involve the fashion industry.
For an overview, the analysis's webpage contains a interactive map with all county capital cities that includes information about textile waste management, what local alternatives exist for donations and reuse, and links to available points on the Harta Reciclării.
Oradea and Sibiu, examples of good practices in collecting and recycling textiles
Oradea has one of the most developed textile collection and valorization systems in Romania. The city has an extensive infrastructure, with 110 street container points and 2 collection centers through voluntary input, which ensure real options for traceability and sorting before disposal. The municipality has delegated the service to both a non-profit association that collects clothes for donations and a private operator that has sorting infrastructure for reuse and recycling. From the textiles collected from the Bihor city:
· 28% are reused through donations or second-hand;
· 16.5% are recycled material (fibers, industrial wipes);
· 11.5% are valorized energetically (burned);
· the rest end up in landfill after sorting.
Sibiu has 27 textile collection points with 40 containers, managed in partnership with the Caritas association. According to local authorities, about 70% of the collected clothes are reused. In Buzău, 99 textile containers have been installed, placed next to existing collection platforms, and the system has been developed in partnership with a private operator. The collected clothes are resold as second-hand products, transformed into industrial wipes, or valorized energetically if they cannot be reused.
On the contrary, Constanța has installed only one container for a population of nearly 250,000 people, while Sector 1 in Bucharest does not collect textiles separately. There are also municipalities that have installed containers, but the collected textiles end up unsorted in incineration or even landfilling. Although the city of Pitești has containers for collection and the administration reported over 107 tons of collected textiles, all the textiles are sent for energy recovery through incineration. In Suceava, the collected textiles are transported to the waste landfill due to the lack of recycling infrastructure.
The Overview of Textile Waste Management in Romania is part of the campaign Muntele de Haine, created by Harta Reciclării, with the support of ING Romania, which draws attention to the large volume of textile waste generated annually and promotes simple solutions for reducing it, which anyone can implement: reuse, repair, reinvent, donate, separate collection, and responsible buying habits.
[1] The administrative units that responded to the questionnaire sent by the Ecoteca association are: Oradea, Sibiu, Craiova, Buzău, Pitești, Galați, Arad, Baia Mare, Ploiești, Deva, Târgu Mureș, Râmnicu Vâlcea, Zalău, Iași, Botoșani, Sfântu Gheorghe, Piatra Neamț, Târgoviște, Suceava, Reșița, Călărași, Roman, Aiud, Râmnicu Sărat, Sântana, Cugir, Chișineu-Criș, Lipova, Slănic-Moldova, Buhuși, Dorohoi and Argeș County.
