The use and throw is over
The Council of Ministers has approved today, Tuesday, June 2, the preliminary draft of the Law on Waste and Contaminated Soils, by which single-use plastics are limited and a circular economy is promoted in our country.
After its approval in the Council of Ministers, the draft will start the process of public information , as well as the corresponding consultation and participation processes.
With the Waste Law it is intended comply with the objectives set in the community directives of the European Union of the Circular Economy Package and in the single-use plastics directive.
The Draft Law on Waste and Contaminated Soils is the first legal text in Spain that includes limitations on single-use plastics to reduce pollution.
FENCE TO SINGLE-USE PLASTICS
With this bill Spain takes another step in its fight against plastic and within a year the straws of this material will be prohibited.
There are two main objectives of this draft: establish measures aimed at protecting the environment and human health and reducing plastic products to prevent its impact on the environment.
As of July 3, 2021, it is prohibited to import: cotton swabs (except if they fall within the scope of medical devices); cutlery (forks, knives, spoons, chopsticks); plates; straws and drink stirrers; as well as containers and cups for food and beverages made of expanded polystyrene, including their lids and plugs.
As of January 1, 2023, its free distribution is prohibited and a price must be charged for each plastic product that is delivered to the consumer, differentiating it on the sales receipt.
It is also prohibited any plastic product made from oxo-degradable plastic and the use of cosmetics and detergents that contain intentionally added microplastics.
Also, the draft includes design requirements (for example, caps and caps that remain attached to the container or PET bottles with 25-30% recycled plastic) and marking obligation for a series of products, as well as awareness measures to inform consumers in order to reduce the abandonment of scattered rubbish.
Single-use plastic food containers must be reduced by 50% in 2026 and 70% in 2030.
OBJECTIVES OF THE WASTE LAW
The Waste Law establishes an objective of 15% waste reduction in 2030 and sets new reuse and recycling targets for municipal waste: 55% in 2025, 60% in 2030 and 65% in 2035.
For the first time, Spanish legislation limits disposable plastics, restricting their introduction on the market.
PLASTIC BOTTLES AND TAP WATER
In relation to plastic bottles, the preliminary draft of the Waste Law marks for the first time a separate collection target for plastic: in 2025, 77% by weight must be collected separately with respect to that introduced on the market; 90% in 2029.
In addition, the new law also provides that bars and restaurants start offering their customers tap water for free, as well as the installation of fountains in centers and public facilities.
The sanctions contemplated in the preliminary draft are fines from 50,001 euros to 2,000,000 euros, except in the case of hazardous waste, in which case the fine may be from 350,000 euros to 2,000,000 euros, for very serious offenses; from 1,001 euros to 50,000 euros except in the case of hazardous waste, in which case the fine will be from 10,001 euros to 350,000 euros, for serious ones, while minor infractions will be sanctioned with a fine of up to 1,000 euros and up to 10,000 if It is hazardous waste.
REUSE AND RECYCLING
The Waste Law also sets targets for reuse and recycling. Thus, by 2025, separate collection of: textiles, used cooking oils, hazardous household waste is introduced and the schedule for separate collection of bio-waste is brought forward (end of 2021 in municipalities with 5,000 inhabitants and end of 2023 for the rest.
Disposal in landfill should be the last option, so repair and reuse activities are promoted, in particular for textiles and furniture, and for electrical and electronic equipment to reduce planned obsolescence.
To end food waste, The standard includes measures to reduce food waste, facilitating donation or use for feed or compost.
They will also be set penalties for littering, the abandonment of garbage in nature and the national inventory of voluntary decontamination of contaminated soils is created to take care of the health of our territory.
TOWARDS A CIRCULAR ECONOMY
“The circular economy will lead us towards a model of production and consumption in accordance with our limited resources”, Teresa Ribera explained after the Council of Ministers.
And she has continued: “We need to move from the current system of linear economy, based on a disproportionate consumption of resources and subsequent waste, to a circular system, where the key is to minimize the rate at which we create and dispose of products”.
Food is wasted in 8 out of 10 Spanish households. In Spain, 1,200 million kilos of food are thrown away every year. To address this problem, it is promoted the Circular Economy Framework, which "will serve as a lever for innovation, job creation, the promotion of the local economy and to reduce our dependence on foreign countries and be more competitive", Rivera said.
The strategy, called Spain Circular 2030, sets as an objective for the next decade to reduce by 30% the national consumption of materials in relation to GDP, taking as reference the year 2010; as well as reduce waste generation by 15% compared to 2010 , which will allow greenhouse gas emissions to fall below 10 million tons of CO2.
The Waste Law is part of the Circular Economy Framework, which will serve as lever for economic recovery after COVID19.
THE TRANSFER OF WASTE
The Council of Ministers has also approved a Royal Decree on the Transfer of Waste to improve the control of waste shipments from their place of origin to their final destination, ensuring coherence with the community regulation.
will be created for it a common electronic system to facilitate documentation.