So far this century, Spain has significantly reduced the generation of urban waste per capita to the point of placing it 10% below the community average but, on the other hand, it is at the bottom of the European Union in recycling, with only a 36.7% recovery, twelve points below the EU average and more than 30 points compared to what Germans recycle.
This is reflected in the monograph Economy and environment in Spain: Analysis of the flow of materials and natural capital prepared by Ivie researchers with funding from the BBVA Foundation, which shows that Spanish society “still has a long way to go.” go in the development of the circular economy.”
The study explains how between 2000 and 2021 Spain has gone from being one of the European countries that generated the most urban waste (653 kilos per inhabitant per year) to being the one that generates the least among the community countries with the highest GDP, such as Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands, 472 kilos per capita. In fact, it is the country that has reduced the kilos of waste per inhabitant the most in that period, 32.5%.
However, the reduction in garbage generation has not been uniform or generalized for all types of waste, and some, such as electrical and electronic waste, have multiplied by 2.3 between 2009 and 2018, going from 2.96 to 6.85 kilos per capita. The remains of containers and packaging have also increased: from 163.4 kilos per person in 2000 to 182.6 in 2021. In both cases, this is a phenomenon that is repeated in the rest of the European countries due to the digitization and generalization of online commerce during the last two decades.
Beyond urban waste, which includes that produced in homes but also by businesses, offices, schools, government buildings and hotels, waste associated with economic activities such as industry, agriculture or construction has also been reduced. The total waste generated was reduced by 40%, although those that have decreased the most are chemicals (-68%), wood (-69%), textiles (-50%) and plastics (-50%).
But, the authors of the study emphasize, just as important as knowing the volume of waste produced is knowing what treatment is given to it. And there the evolution of Spain is no longer so favorable, since it is located at the bottom of the countries with the greatest wealth in the EU in terms of urban waste recycling rate, with 36.7% recovery of urban waste. and 48% if all waste, including industrial waste, is taken into account.
And this despite the fact that Spanish recycling rates have increased considerably since 2000, especially in the case of urban waste (99%) and some specific remains such as containers and packaging (76%) or electronics (8 % from 2010).
The weakness of recycling means that the rate of circular use of materials is also below the European Union average (7.1% compared to 11.5%) and very far from that of other European countries such as the Netherlands (27 .5%), France (19.3%), Italy (18.7%) or Germany (13%). Furthermore, the Ivie researchers indicate, this indicator, far from improving, has lost 3.3 percentage points between 2010 and 2022.
This also has to do with the fact that activities related to the recovery of materials and recycling account for only 1.9% of Spanish GDP, compared to 2.5% in Italy, 2.2% in Germany and 2.1% in Spain. % European average
