The city of Girona has begun implementing a new waste collection system using smart containers. From now on, there will be a separate container for each type of waste, and residents can dispose of their waste any day of the week and at any time of day. An identification card is still required to open the containers.

A few days ago, the results of the 2024 municipal waste management report in Catalonia were published. Although it may seem like we're making progress, the reality is stubborn: we remain stagnant. After 25 years of selective collection of organic waste and more than two decades of taxation penalizing landfills, we're barely reaching 40% actual recycling. This is a far cry from the 55% required by Europe for 2025 and even further from the 65% target for 2035.

In 2022, Catalans will generate 3.8 million tons of waste. But, of all that mountain, only 1.7 million tons were selectively collected. Thus, garbage separated at source, in homes or businesses, stands at 45%. It is a slightly better figure than the data from the previous year (0.3% more waste was separated) but, nevertheless, it is well below the European objectives, which were set to reach 50% of separated waste in 2020 and reach 55% by 2025.

Mariel Vilella is global strategy director of Zero Waste Europe (ZWE), the network of communities, organisations and local leaders calling for the elimination of waste in society. ZWE was founded in 2014 as the European branch of the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA).