Recycling in Spain APEAL supports the campaign against a Spanish deposit system

The adoption of the Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC) into the Spanish legal system required profound changes to the 1998 Spanish Waste Act.

One of the issues represented by the new legislation was the eventual mandatory establishment of a deposit-refund scheme for one-way drinks packaging. This was an issue that would directly affect cans, and Spain is the second biggest consumer of cans in Europe.

Ecoacero (the Spanish steel recycling organisation) and Latas de Bebidas (the Spanish association of beverage canmakers), in partnership with APEAL and other organisations in the industry such as AME (the Spanish canmakers association) defended the positive performance of steel regarding sustainable development and specifically cited the high levels of recycling achieved in the country. At the same time, they disputed the results of such plans in other countries, notably Germany. None of the proposed goals of such schemes - a marked increase in recycling, promotion of reusable packaging, reduction of littering - have ever been achieved; in fact, previous deposit-refund schemes have had negative effects on the environment, the cost of waste management, consumer finances and also on the markets, as they create hindrances to the proper functioning of the internal market.

“Previous deposit-refund schemes have had negative effects on the environment, the cost of waste management, consumer finances and also on the markets.”

Whilst canvassing to the Spanish Congress of Deputies and the Senate, Ecoacero contacted various parliamentary groups and presented their amendments calling for the renunciation of the articles regarding returnable materials.

Packaging and retailer organisations, the food and drinks federation FIAB, and both waste integrated management systems ECOEMBES and ECOVIDRIO have taken similar action, highlighting the voluntary nature of recycling and stating that the scheme should only be made compulsory if the legally established recycling targets are not met.

The Environment Ministry declared itself “very surprised” by the reaction of the industry in response to the scheme. However it clearly recognised the investments and successes of recycling in Spain during recent years. 65.9% of household waste was recycled in 2010.

In the approved law, known as Law 22/2011 on Waste and Contaminated Soils, the implementation of a deposit-refund scheme is now dependent on approval by the Congress of Deputies, but only following an evaluation of its technical, economic, social and environmental viability. A significant win for the industrial sector is that consultation with industry bodies in an ad-hoc Waste Committee would also be mandatory before implementation.