z ENTERPRISE business
back to CONTENTS
ECOEMBES SPEARHEADING THE RECYCLING MOVEMENT IN SPAIN WORDS MARISA CUTILLAS PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF ECOEMBES
I
f you are an eco-friendly family that makes full use of the plethora of yellow and blue recycling bins you see along the Costa del Sol (and indeed in the rest of Spain), then you may have wondered who makes them available, what occurs to the items you pop into these bins, and the extent to which you are benefitting the Planet. The last query can be answered immediately: You are making a big difference. Víctor Vázquez, Waste Management Specialist at Ecoembes (Andalusian office) recently enlightened me with useful data: “Approximately 80 soda pop cans can be recycled into a bicycle tyre, eight cans of conserves can be transformed into a cooking pot, and 550 aluminium cans can become an aluminium chair.” His words highlight one important fact: successful recycling starts with
200 / OCTOBER 2021 ESSENTIAL MAGAZINE
you, so maintain your resolve and use the many available recycling bins. If you haven’t already started, meanwhile, what are you waiting for – another polar ice cap to start melting?
with 12,669 member companies. It works closely alongside local governments and a wide range of businesses involved in the manufacture, distribution, sale, and recycling of waste products.
WHAT IS ECOEMBES?
FINDING NEW LIFE FOR WASTED PACKAGING
Ecoembes is a not-for-profit organisation whose main remit is to coordinate the selective pick-up and recovery of light packaging (plastic, metal and carton) and paper and cardboard packaging for its subsequent recycling. Its aim is to comply with the Spanish and EU legal requirements containing obligations to reduce the environmental impact of packaging and find new uses for unwanted materials. Ecoembes was founded in 1996 and it runs an integrated management system (in accordance with Law 11/97 on Packaging and Plastic Waste)
In addition to coordinating the packaging recycling system, Víctor explains, “we also work closely with local administrations to select the waste products and residue that are brought to recycling companies to be converted into primary products that can be made into a range of useful items.” The success achieved by this entity is impressive indeed. Víctor says, “In 2020, we delivered 1,490,283 tons of domestic packaging to official recycling centres and prevented the emission of 1.67 million tons of CO2 into the atmosphere.”
