The message that we must reduce the volume of plastics, especially single-use ones, is permeating society. Multiple evidence and signs indicate that the use of plastics is regressing in various areas. Legislative initiatives, campaigns by social organizations and better knowledge of the ecological impact of these materials on the environment (especially on the marine environment, since they are not biodegradable) are already leaving their mark on consumption.
80% of the companies in the plastics sector affirm that they have suffered a drop in sales in the last six months, according to a survey by the Spanish Association of plastics manufacturers (Anaip).
One of the most important instruments to reduce plastics was the tax promoted by the Government in the Waste Law, a new tax that came into force on January 1, 2023, aimed at "preventing the generation of non-recyclable plastic packaging waste." reusable, as well as promoting the recycling of plastic waste”, with the aim of reusing these materials. However, Luis Cediel, general director of Anaip, explains that "it is difficult" to establish a direct relationship between the reduction in sales and the start of the application of the tax.
"With the one that is falling against the plastic, that sales drop was something to be expected," says Cediel. From the sector it is considered that the public image of plastic has been "being bad" for years and that the regulations have been implemented under this consideration.
As an example, he cites the regulations that prohibit free single-use plastic bags in supermarkets, which has led to a reduction in volume and the emergence of other materials (paper, cardboard and alternative reusable bags).
The main falls have been detected in companies dedicated to the production of plastic for containers and packaging, but that the sector is trying to overcome. "Plastic was the material of the 20th century and the new plastic will be the material of the 21st century," concludes the Anaip spokesman.
Citizen demand is also having an influence. A study by the consulting firm GlobeScan concluded that between 2019 and 2021, citizens changed their shopping habits to actively avoid plastic packaging.
Likewise, according to an IPSOS survey, 75% of citizens want to buy products with as little packaging as possible and 63% would be willing to change businesses if they generated less packaging.
Meanwhile, new economic activities have emerged focused on the reduction of single-use plastics, containers and wrappers. All of them aim to provide an answer to this problem in prepared food stores, take away restaurants and home delivery drivers (riders...).
For example, the Bumerang company provides a returnable take-away food container service. It offers these solutions to restaurants and they in turn provide customer service. "We rent a lunch box service, with the difference that we have added a technological element to it," sums up Oriol Segarra, director of the company.
Each container made available to the restaurant that signs up for this service is marked with a QR reader code (which is like a license plate), so that the customer scans it before taking their food home, it becomes your 'property' and thus you will have the container free to return it in 15 days in any of the restaurants and adhered centers. Then, when it is returned to the restaurant, they wash it in their dishwasher, collect that small amount (25 cents) and it can be reused again, to restart this virtuous circle free of single-use packaging.
The promoters of these initiatives consider that in order for them to make their way and to be generalized, it is essential to comply with the Waste Law, which requires businesses to charge a small amount for the delivery of single-use packaging (which must be reflected in the receipt).
The reusable container is having great acceptance in corporate canteens (companies of all kinds), hospitals and universities. "Since we started in January 2020, at the Val d'Hebron hospital we have avoided 80,000 single-use containers, weighing 2 tons," says Oriol Segarra.
Les Mercedes, a non-profit cooperative dedicated to courier and food delivery, has expanded its activity by offering seasonal products served in returnable containers.
The cooperative is made up of four women who, before the pandemic, had dedicated themselves to making bicycle tours for tourists and who are now focusing their efforts on the Bol en Bici project, the “delivery that rethinks food at home”, they indicate. The project is still in the pilot phase, and Ariadna Serra, one of its founders, explains that its development is involving a great effort.
Vasovengo, for its part, is a reusable cup rental service that avoids the consumption of single-use cups. It has been implemented mainly in cafeterias in Barcelona, although they also work in Ibiza, Salamanca, and soon, Madrid. The client pays one euro, when he orders his coffee, and it is returned to him later, when he takes the glass back, to the same cafeteria or to a different one. “We started with three stores and now we collaborate with twenty. This means that it works, although it is slow. In Spain, users are not used to this type of consumption”, points out Manuela Santoyo from this company.
This venture, he explains, is born from the union of two generations, one that has lived a childhood where reuse was normal, and another that lives an ideal of recovering it. “Our grandparents already did it with milk. It is now, after the boom generated by single-use plastic, when it is difficult to go back to the previous thing, to change the habit”, argues Santoyo.
Its most distinctive feature is being analog. “The reuse services that currently exist, which are very few in Spain, are mostly based on downloading applications. This is a barrier for the user, we look for analog to facilitate access ”, he adds.
These three initiatives –Bûmerang, Les Mercedes and Vasovengo- are part of the European ReUse Vanguard Project, promoted by the Rezero Foundation. This entity has made Barcelona a pioneering city in reducing waste in the take away sector. And now look for consumers and locals to know alternative solutions to single-use plastic.
“The best simile with all our ventures, in reduction and reuse, is the automobile. When it was invented, roads had to be built. That is what we are doing now, creating those roads”, concludes Marta Beltrán, in charge of the European project within ReZero.
