The generation of domestic waste has doubled in recent years, transforming our planet into a huge garbage dump and the only way to tackle the problem is to reduce the amount of waste through recycling. According to data from the Global Recycling Foundation each year, waste recycling saves 700 million tons in CO2 emissions, and is expected to increase to one billion tons by 2030.
Thanks to the agreements with the Autonomous Communities and local authorities, today 100% of the Spanish territory has containers in which citizens can separate their plastic, brik, metal and paper / cardboard containers.
According to a study carried out last 2020 by the Catchment research institute on recycling, eight out of ten Spaniards have the habit of separating household containers in their corresponding recycling containers.
Spain is the seventh largest recycling country in Europe, headed by Belgium and Luxembourg.
What's the need for those two out of ten citizens to join the recycling? For Miguel Aguado, environmental promoter, it is necessary to convince this minority of people who, through false myths, not only excuse themselves for not recycling, but also try to convince the rest of the population.
The urban legend that, in the end, all the garbage is mixed in the same place: recycling plants, it's a lie
The reality is that the waste enters each of the 96 plants in Spain by different conveyor belts according to their typology. “We have a good recycling system and what goes to the containers, for the most part, is recycled. And it is recycled very well,” said Aguado.
Cardboard, a product with a thousand uses
Cardboard recycling follows a process very similar to paper recycling and can be obtained by properly separating and depositing it in blue containers. However, cardboard boxes they have a thousand uses and we can try to reuse it whenever possible.
Many of the products we purchase, such as small appliances, come in cardboard boxes that can be reused. Carton, unlike paper, possesses qualities that make it resistant. It also allows great manipulation so with a little expertise and effort, we can create several objects and even furniture designed with cardboard.
