Taking into account the fact that return logistics is a relatively young branch of the economy, for which no major research has yet been carried out as part of its improvement, it is not surprising that it has only recently achieved the status of an increasing number of researches in current scientific works. The very structure of this work is based on several chapters, which cover the areas of logistics and its development, then the subsystems of business logistics, which brings us to the concept of reverse logistics, which is also the main subject of research in this thesis. In the framework of return logistics, its main features and carriers are listed, as well as the key areas of return logistics that concern the return of products as well as their recycling. Within the concept of recycling, which is used more and more today, some economic benefits and the very future of recycling are mentioned, as well as possible directions for the development of green logistics. In order to relate this issue to its application in practice, it is stated what sustainable waste management is at the European level, but also at the level of the Republic of Croatia, which highlights the waste prevention plan. Within the scope of waste management at the level of the City of Rijeka, an example of the work in practice of the waste management company Metis d.d.