2023-05-17 00:16:54
An amount that represents an increase of 3.6% compared to 2021. Each citizen separated, on average, 27.1 kg of packaging throughout the year
Ms de 1.6 million tons of containers Plastic, metal, bricks and paper and cardboard household items were sent last year to recycling facilities throughout the country for recovery. A figure that represents 3.6% more than the previous year, according to the data made public this Wednesday. Ecoembes (the non-profit environmental organization in charge of managing domestic packaging) as part of the celebration of the World Recycling Day.
That means each Spaniard separated, on average, 27.1 kg of containers throughout the year they were deposited in the yellow and blue bins and bins. Thanks to this daily gesture, last year the consumption equivalent to 21.46 million m3 of water and 6.72 million MWh of energy were saved, in addition to avoiding the emission of 1.79 million tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. , according to association calculations. Of this separated material for subsequent recycling, the majority (708,596 tons) were plastic containers (an increase of 4.7% compared to 2021), followed by 666,344 kg of paper and cardboard (+4.5%), 243,360 of metal containers (-1.5%) and 9,012 tons of wood (+6.8%).
The data collected by Ecoembes reflect that, of the total tons of recycled packaging (1.627.313), the majority (1,205,378) came from the containers that the citizens separated into the yellow and blue containers on the street, as well as from the colored bins installed in spaces with a large influx of public. The remaining quantity was recovered from the residual fraction treatment plants, which receive all types of unseparated waste.
These data confirm the results of the study ‘Habits of the Spanish Population before recycling’, carried out by the Catchment Institute, which indicated that 82.9% of Spaniards state that they have three buckets in their home, bags or spaces to separate containers, one of them specifically dedicated to plastic, metal and briks (materials that go to the yellow container). Data that reflects a sustained increase in the last decade: in 2015, 72.5% of those surveyed claimed to recycle daily.
“Recycling is a daily action among Spanish families, it is integrated into their day-to-day life, and that is a success”, he declared. pink wheat, CEO of Ecoembes. “But we must aspire to more: we have to continue making it easy for the citizen, so that they continue collaborating with the voluntary separation of their waste at home and when they are at work, on the street or at a sporting event, so that each time do with fewer mistakes and get those who don’t recycle to start doing so”.
This one to they turn 25 years old of the approval of the law that promoted the recycling of containers in Spain. A measure that has been accompanied by constant growth: from the 43,969 tons that were sent for recycling in 1998, to the 1,627,313 reached in 2022. An evolution parallel to an improvement in infrastructure throughout the country, as well as the deployment campaigns to raise awareness and educate the population about recycling habits: for example, explanations about what waste to deposit in each container and the positive consequences of recycling.
lines of improvement
Even so, as they explain from Ecoembes, there is still room for improvement on many fronts, various areas in which further improvement can be made to increase citizen collaboration with the separation of containers to align with the new objectives set by Spanish and Community legislation. For example, it will be necessary to move more and more towards reduction and responsible consumption and reuse as prior alternatives to recycling. Also getting more citizens to separate small metal containers such as cans and aerosols in the yellow container.
Another axis for improvement is to avoid throwing inappropriate materials into the container, such as toys, chairs or clothing, which are sometimes thrown into plastic containers and which complicate the selection work carried out in the sorting plants. On the other hand, progress can still be made in the recycling of other types of waste that, up to now, have not had a mandatory separate collection, such as textiles or organic matter.
The objectives set in terms of recycling for the coming years affect the increase in recycling of all types of waste, both domestic and industrial. “It is not just a matter of meeting the objectives set by the legislation, but also of fulfilling our commitment to the environment,” declared Rosa Trigo, CEO of Ecoembes. “We are going to continue working towards this end, as we have been doing for these 25 years, raising awareness and bringing recycling closer to citizens and offering all our know-how so that the recycling cycle is as efficient as possible”.
Circular Economy Series carried out in collaboration with the organization Ecoembes.
According to the criteria of
The Trust Project
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