MORE TRASH , MORE CASH

The report argues that Spain's plastic waste management is dominated by monopolies like Ecoembes and Ecovidrio, whose business models profit from increased plastic packaging, leading them to lobby against effective solutions like DRS. It highlights the financial burden of litter clean-up on taxpayers, estimated at up to €744 million annually, and criticises retailers for their lack of transparency and opposition to mandatory reforms. While some regions like the Balearic Islands are implementing ambitious laws, the report warns that the Spanish government remains susceptible to industry lobbying, which threatens the country's ability to meet EU targets for separate collection and recycled content by 2030.

• Spain is a major contributor to plastic pollution, ranking as the fourth largest consumer of plastic in Europe and the second largest source of Mediterranean pollution after Turkey.
• The cost of cleaning up packaging litter from streets and coastal areas in Spain is estimated to cost municipalities and taxpayers up to €744 million per year, with beverage containers accounting for up to €529 million of that total.
• Ecoembes and Ecovidrio operate business models based on licensing fees tied to the weight of packaging placed on the market, meaning they financially benefit from an increase in plastic packaging and are therefore incentivised to oppose reuse and reduction.
• The Reciclos system, launched by Ecoembes as a voluntary 'return and reward' alternative to DRS, is described as a distraction tactic with significant flaws, including a limit of ten points per week per person and a lack of widespread collection points.
• Major Spanish retailers, particularly Mercadona, have actively opposed the implementation of DRS, with some allegedly threatening to remove products from shelves if consumer brands publicly support such systems.
• While international beverage producers like Coca-Cola, Nestlé, Danone, and PepsiCo support DRS through European trade groups (EFBW and UNESDA), their Spanish subsidiaries continue to oppose it by aligning with Ecoembes and Ecovidrio.
• The Balearic Islands have passed a groundbreaking waste law with binding targets, including a 10% reduction in waste by 2021 and a 20% cut by 2030, and have identified that only 25% of light packaging waste was actually recycled in 2019.
• The Spanish government has indicated that the decision to implement a DRS will be handled via a Royal Decree rather than through parliament, which the report argues prevents public debate and increases industry influence.

APA

Changing Markets Foundation (2021). MORE TRASH , MORE CASH. https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/MoreTrashMoreCash.pdf

Chicago

Changing Markets Foundation. MORE TRASH , MORE CASH. 2021. https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/MoreTrashMoreCash.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Changing Markets Foundation |title=MORE TRASH , MORE CASH |date=March 2021 |url=https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/MoreTrashMoreCash.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{changingmarketsfoundation2021more, author = {{Changing Markets Foundation}}, title = {{MORE TRASH , MORE CASH}}, institution = {Changing Markets Foundation}, year = {2021}, month = mar, url = {https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/MoreTrashMoreCash.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }