By the end of 2026, Romania will reach one of the most significant infrastructural milestones in the history of the regional and European circular economy. Târgu Mureș-based Professional Recycle has officially announced a massive expansion and operational development plan that will result in the company nearly tripling its existing processing capacity. Upon the completion of these investments, the facility will be capable of processing approximately 90,000 tonnes of PET packaging waste annually, officially elevating it to the status of Europe’s largest single-site PET recycling center.
The Evolution of the Târgu Mureș Plant and the 2026 Expansion
The history of Professional Recycle spans more than a decade. Founded in 2010, the Romanian company has grown through persistent effort to become one of the country’s most vital industrial players in plastic recycling. The company’s core activity revolves around the collection, sorting, and processing of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) packaging waste into high-quality secondary raw materials.
In the spring of 2026, the company announced the most ambitious operational development and expansion phase of its existence. According to official plans, the existing processing capacity of the production plant will be increased nearly threefold. Based on quantified targets, the facility will reach an annual capacity of approximately 90,000 tonnes by the end of 2026.
This processing volume is outstanding not only on a regional level but on a continental scale as well. Once the development is fully realized, the Târgu Mureș facility will become the largest PET packaging waste recycling and processing plant in Europe that executes the entire technological process within a single integrated production unit (single-site). This highly centralized operation enables significant logistical and energy savings, actively reducing the carbon dioxide emissions associated with long-distance waste transportation.
The RetuRO Deposit Return System (DRS) as a Catalyst for Growth
Operating a plant with such a massive processing capacity stably and economically requires a continuous, reliable, and high-purity supply of waste raw materials. The expansion of Professional Recycle is intricately linked to the radical transformation of Romanian waste management in recent times, particularly the highly successful launch and scaling of the national Deposit Return System (Sistemul de Garanție-Returnare – SGR / DRS).
RetuRO, the administrator of the system—which also stands as the largest circular economy project in Romania’s history—has produced staggering results. According to official reports, in just the first two months of 2026, RetuRO collected a total of 667 million beverage containers directly from the public.
This massive volume of source-segregated, uncontaminated PET bottles provides the exact feedstock base that makes the dramatic capacity expansion of the Târgu Mureș plant both justified and financially sustainable. The synergy between the deposit return system and the recycling industry ensures that bottles returned by the population do not end up in landfills or incinerators, but instead return to the economy as valuable, clean secondary raw materials.
The Romanian Circular Economy and Industry Targets
The massive investment by Professional Recycle perfectly aligns with the broader sustainability and industry strategy formulated by Romania in accordance with European Union directives. Major corporations involved in the beverage packaging market—guided by organizations such as the National Association of Soft Drinks Producers—have set extremely strict and ambitious targets regarding packaging waste management.
Among these quantified objectives is the mandate to reintroduce a 50% share of recycled raw material (rPET) into product packaging. Furthermore, manufacturers have committed to ensuring the 100% recyclability of all packaging placed on the market. Long-term plans targeting the year 2030 dictate a mandatory 90% collection rate for all packaging introduced to the consumer market.
For beverage manufacturers to successfully utilize 50% recycled materials in their bottles, a robust domestic processing infrastructure—such as the 90,000-tonne capacity plant in Târgu Mureș—is absolutely indispensable. Large beverage producers, such as Coca-Cola HBC Romania, consistently emphasize the critical importance of close cooperation with RetuRO and local authorities to ensure that the domestic industry has seamless access to high-quality recycled raw materials derived from locally collected waste.
Strategic Importance in Central and Eastern Europe
The development by Professional Recycle, maturing by the end of 2026, is of paramount importance not only to the Romanian economy. Establishing Europe’s largest single-site PET recycling capacity in Târgu Mureș means that the Central and Eastern European region gains a new, unavoidable hub in the field of plastic waste circulation. By reaching the 90,000-tonne target, the company, founded in 2010, proves that the collaboration of technological innovation, state-level waste collection systems (RetuRO), and private capital offers highly effective, industrial-scale solutions to the global problem of plastic pollution.
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Based on the report from Romania Insider (April 2026): Professional Recycle PET factory