10 reasons why we should look back fondly at the year 2025: a retrospective of the beautiful events throughout the year

The year 2025 was, without a doubt, one of the most difficult in recent times. We went through crises, uncertainties, and tense moments that tested our resilience. However, in order not to end this chapter on a completely pessimistic note, we at informat.ro have compiled a list of 10 events that got lost among the alarming breaking news from the East, across the Atlantic, or even from our own home:

1. Romania reached a record recycling rate through the SGR system (RetuRO): After a hesitant start, 2025 marked the year when Romania emerged from the bottom of the European ranking for packaging recycling. The Guarantee-Return system has become a national reflex, and statistics show that over 80% of the packaging placed on the market has been recovered, visibly cleaning the forests and waters of PET bottles. It is the largest successful circular economy project ever in the country.

2. The hospital built by people operates at full capacity: 2025 was the first full year of operation for the Marie Curie Hospital, built exclusively from donations from over 350,000 Romanians and thousands of companies. This "cathedral of good" has changed the standards in pediatric oncology in Romania, providing Western-level treatment conditions for thousands of children, without any political involvement, only through the power of civil society.

3. The return of the bison in the Carpathians is a total biological success: The reintroduction programs for bison in the Făgăraș Mountains and the Arc have reached a critical stability threshold in 2025. The population has grown naturally, without human intervention, and Romania has been mentioned in European reports as an example of successful "rewilding," vital for the continent's biodiversity.

4. Telemedicine has reached the most isolated villages in the Delta and Apuseni: The pilot project of "digital medical caravans," supported by NGOs in partnership with the state, succeeded in 2025 in providing remote diagnostics for thousands of elderly people who had not seen a doctor for years. Through mobile stations connected to the internet, doctors from major university centers were able to prescribe treatments in real time.

5. The casino in Constanța has risen: 2025 marked the end of the restoration of the symbol by the Black Sea. After years of ruin, the casino was reopened to the public, becoming once again a cultural center and proof that historical heritage can be saved even at the last minute.

6. The ozone hole over Antarctica has closed to a size not seen since 1992: Due to the gradual elimination of harmful chemicals (CFCs), measurements in 2025 showed that the ozone hole at the North Pole closed much earlier than in previous years. It is tangible proof that long-term environmental policies, respected globally, do indeed work.

7. The Global Plastic Pact: International negotiations materialized in 2025 with the first legally binding treaty signed by the majority of nations to reduce plastic production, a historic moment for the health of the planet.

8. Notre-Dame has been reborn: The cathedral in Paris had its first full year of visitation after the fire in 2019. The exemplary restoration transformed it into the strongest global symbol of cultural resilience in 2025.

9. Green energies have defeated coal: 2025 is the statistically confirmed turning point: global investments in solar and wind have doubled those in fossil fuels, putting emissions on an irreversible downward trend.

10. The oceans breathe: Cleaning technologies in the Pacific have reached maximum efficiency. For the first time, the amount of plastic extracted has exceeded the accumulation of new waste in the targeted areas, marking the beginning of the retreat of the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch."

On this occasion, the informat.ro team wishes you a happy new year, a pleasant holiday where applicable, and peaceful celebrations!

Happy New Year 2026!