The recycling of domestic plastic, metal, brik, paper and cardboard packaging managed by Ecoembes reached the record figure of 1,683,890 tons in 2023, which is 3.5% more than the previous year and 12% more than Five years ago.
By type of material, 733,673 tons were of plastic packaging (3.5% more than in 2022); 697,305 of paper and cardboard (4.6%); 243,604 were metallic (0.1%); and 9,308 tons were wooden containers (3.28%). "All these tons have been recycled in one of the 495 recyclers approved by Ecoembes, which guarantee the correct treatment of packaging waste, thus contributing to its circularity," notes Ecoembes in the 2023 management balance.
In addition to saving virgin raw materials, recycling domestic packaging to manufacture new products - such as textiles, pipes, street furniture or new packaging, among others - also brings other environmental benefits. Specifically, in 2023, it meant saving 9.84 million MWh of energy; 15.53 million cubic meters of water and prevented the emission of 1.7 million tons of CO₂ into the atmosphere.
73.1% of the recycled tons come from separate collection, which includes both municipal separate collection (60.1%) – through the yellow and blue containers on the street – and that carried out with private management ( 13%) through recycling points located in places with a large influx of public such as stadiums, airports, stations or many events. The remaining 26.9% was recovered from the waste plants that treat the rest fraction, where all types of waste arrive without separating.
1) Municipal separate collection
Of the total tons of domestic packaging recycled in 2023, 60.1% (1,012,036 tons) come from what citizens separate in their homes and deposit in one of the 397,721 yellow containers (for plastic, metal and brik containers). ) and 253,322 blue (for paper and cardboard packaging) that are on the streets and that, once collected, are taken to one of the 97 selection plants spread throughout the territory.
On average, each citizen separated 19.6 kg of waste in the blue container (2%) and 20.4 kg in the yellow container (5.15%) throughout the year. "Although the recycling habit is consolidated and grows every year, other waste still reaches the yellow container incorrectly. In fact, in 2023, 31.9% of the waste that was deposited in the yellow container was not packaging," indicates the annual balance.
"To make municipal separate collection possible, Ecoembes collaborates with the different local public administrations through 56 agreements that establish the conditions and financing of these infrastructures. In 2023, 646 million euros were allocated to local public administrations for this purpose" , highlights the report now published.
2) Private Separate Pickup
Ecoembes complements separate municipal collection with private collections in places with a large influx of public and with a significant presence of packaging, such as sports stadiums, airports, offices or leisure parks. 13% of the containers recycled in 2023 (219,424 tons) come from what was collected at the 57,643 recycling points and 310 Recycles machines located in these places.
Ecoembes' collaboration with these spaces is articulated through tailored projects that include containerization, selection, treatment and monitoring of waste, as well as raising awareness among staff and users. In these cases, private managers are in charge of collecting the containers and transporting them to the sorting plants.
3) Recovery of plants that treat the rest fraction
Finally, the remaining 26.9% of recycled domestic packaging (452,430 tons) was recovered from the remaining fraction plants – gray containers – which is where the unseparated waste arrives. A figure that shows that, although recycling is a well-established environmental habit, there is still a way to go to extend it even further.
“Thanks to public administrations, companies and citizens, we have promoted a collaboration model that has placed recycling as the most widespread environmental behavior in our country and which is a reference today. We are proud to have achieved that 1.7 million tons of packaging are recycled and have a second life,” said Rosa Trigo, CEO of Ecoembes. “After more than 25 years of experience, we now focus on working for a future without waste, beyond recycling. We must produce less waste and also be able to reuse it. It is not only about meeting the ambitious objectives set by the legislation, but also about responding to the needs of the Planet.”
The costs of the process coordinated by Ecoembes are covered by the income that the organization receives from its more than 14,000 clients - companies that sell packaging in the Spanish market - who place their environmental responsibility in it, as established by law. , ensure that these containers are recycled properly.
With the aim that all European countries use the same measurement criteria to harmonize their recycling rates, Implementing Decision 2019/665 of April 17, 2019, based on what is regulated in Directive 2018/852, established a new calculation methodology that will be applied to monitor recycling objectives by the EU, and which are mandatory for all member states.
This new methodology changes the point in the process from which a material is considered recycled. Following this new criterion, and based on 2023 data, the percentage of waste recycling managed by Ecoembes - that is, calculated taking into account the packaging that its companies declare to market in the Spanish market and that are under its management - would be of 74.2%, exceeding the objectives that Europe sets for 2025 two years in advance.
