After the approval of the Draft Law on Waste by the Council of Ministers and the consultation on the Royal Decree on Packaging and Packaging Waste, it is expected that legislation will be put in place to promote the preservation of the environment.
These proposals, which will end up in the new waste law, arise from the need to transform the current models, through actions that allow for the reduction of damage to the environment, using sustainable processes.
The idea of continuing with this preliminary project is to promote the reuse of products, complete the life cycle, make the most of resources and achieve the recovery of the ecological environment.
In addition, it is proposed to apply approaches such as the elimination of unnecessary resources, the promotion of recycling and the preservation of the average life of consumer products are important aspects of these proposals.
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What are the strategic lines expected from the new waste law
To promote a diversified, sustainable and real economy, the draft of the new Waste Law established five strategic lines that aim to benefit society and its environment.
The ideas that are promoted to be included in this new law are
Reduce packaging
In this way, the amount of waste that cannot be recycled or reused to make compost will be reduced.
Thus avoiding the additional cost that users must pay when ordering from a restaurant or take away service.
The idea is to provide an alternative that allows products to be consumed at home without using containers that pollute the environment.
Increasing the supply of products and reusable elements
The idea is that the new waste law will guarantee and promote the manufacture of reusable products and packaging free of contaminating elements.
Making reusable products such as bottles and glass containers available to the catering sector.
Determining obsolescence and facilitating repair
By offering products with a shelf life that provides sustainable solutions and preventing the use of products that cannot be recycled or reused, including devices of programmed obsolescence.
In this sense, it is also important to discuss the status of waste such as mattresses, furniture and textile waste.
Encouraging the return of packaging
For the new legislation, it is expected that a waste storage system will be set up to collect used beverage containers from various businesses.
This will allow the reuse and recycling of bottles, cans and tetrabrik; which -when not collected correctly- end up polluting the environment.
Activate separate waste collection
Separate collection of waste is another point that is expected to be part of the new legislation.
To this end, the classification of organic matter is proposed to promote composting, favouring the regeneration of soils and the implementation of a successful model that will improve collection in containers.
Similarly, other types of waste should be collected so that they can be directed to recycling or disposal plants in the correct way.
Proposals to achieve transformation towards zero waste
In order to achieve a transformation that promotes prevention, reuse and recycling in the industry, it is necessary to implement a series of proposals that are incorporated into the regulations established by law, such as
- Establish targets for the reduction of packaging.
- Encourage the sale of reusable products.
- Implementing a deposit system for beverage containers.
- Setting a goal focused on organic waste collection.
- Establishing a single tax on landfill and incineration.
In this way, we could contribute – in a more articulated and effective way – to the conservation of the environment and the reduction of our carbon footprint.
