The collection of paper and cardboard has fallen by 25 percent in the municipalities of 500,000 inhabitants due to the crisis, which has triggered the theft of these materials.
The crisis has triggered paper theft and cardboard and in the municipalities of more than 500,000 inhabitants collection of this material has fallen by 25%.
This is stated in a study by the Spanish Association of Carton packaging manufacturers undulating, which adds that in municipalities of between 200,000 and 500,000 inhabitants the reduction is about 9%.
This study is echoed in your latest newsletter Ecoembes, the non-profit organisation responsible for managing packaging of paper, cardboard, plastic, or cans.
Its new director-general, Oscar Martin, has acknowledged that "unfortunately" this fact occurs, which he also claims is closely linked to the prices of these raw materials.
These thefts, he explains, can not only affect the recycling rate, but also have economic effects on companies engaged in recycling this material, which in Spain is one of the highest in Europe.
Ecoembes currently brings together more than 12,155 companies in the sector, representing 90% of the packaging available on the market each year.
However, Ecoembes’ “concerns and uncertainties,” Óscar Martín pointed out, now focus mainly on the Waste Act passed almost at the end of the previous parliamentary term.
Ecoembes will ask the new PP government to amend the law, and “without a doubt” one of the points we want to change is the one concerning the deposit return system.
According to Martín, however, it is a “costly and inefficient” system that “Spain does not need” and whose implementation, he claims, will cost the Spanish state 900 million euros.
The other challenge focuses on Ecodesign, and according to Ecoembes, with measures implemented under the Design for Recycling project, more than 56,800 tonnes of raw materials have been saved in packaging production between 2009 and 2010.
The aim of this project is twofold: on the one hand, it is a question of making packaging companies known. the influence of packaging design on recyclingOn the other hand, practical integration of aspects related to packaging waste management is promoted in the design phase.
As a result of the implementation of this project, reduce weight by 11.7% in 12 years of the packages.
Ecoembes expects to reach a rate of 80 percent of recycling of all packages placed on the market.
Currently, 66 per cent of waste from blue and yellow containers is recycled, and 10.5 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent has been avoided in the atmosphere since 1998.
Source: www.diariodenavarra.es
