Evidence of the lack of waste prevention policies is manifested in the decline of reusable beverage containers. Single-use containers continue to rise. It is revealed again by a study by the Rezero Foundation, focused on waste prevention and responsible consumption; This is stated in the report The Spanish State towards zero waste. Current situation and indicators towards the transition. The report indicates that the share of reusable packaging in Spain has not stopped decreasing in recent years, going from 21% in 2010 to 13% in 2018, which is why it has dropped eight points.
Rosa García, general director of Rezero, offers more information on the conclusions of this report and points out that the downward trend in the number of reusable containers is appreciated and is present in all types of beverages. “Soda containers are the ones that have had the biggest drop; they have gone from 28% to 12%; the quota for the reuse of beer bottles has decreased from 33% to 30%, and of water from 9% to 8% ”, she indicates to this newspaper..
One of the instruments to penalize non-reusable containers has been the tax on non-reusable plastic containers that came into force on January 1 and affects everything from bottles to plastic cups, packaging rolls or the boxes that wrap the fruit in the supermarket.
The intention of this initiative is to generate a deterrent effect on non-reusable packaging and shift production towards packaging that does not end up increasing the quota of municipal waste due to failures and demonstrated deficiencies in the cycle of selective collection, recycling and others.
The Rezero report indicates that waste generation has increased by 1.7% on average each year between 2014 and 2017.
Despite everything, the Rezero Foundation highlights the appearance of some positive trends for waste prevention. One test is “the growth of initiatives on responsible production and consumption by companies, entities and local and supra-municipal governments”, explains Rosa García.
That is why Meritxell Hernández, chief executive and founder of the reusable packaging company Roll’eat, indicates that the role of governments and the administration is key to “reducing as much as possible the number of single-use plastics and promoting management policies of waste”.
However, this businesswoman also remembers the role that people play in this whole process. “We must increase awareness for the care and protection of the environment, because only then will we achieve the waste reduction targets set,” says Hernández.
In 2019, the percentage of recycled material that returned to the productive cycle of the Spanish economy was 10.2%, “a very worrying figure. In other words, only 10% of the materials used in the Spanish state come from products recycled”, says Rosa García.
