Fewer prohibitions and more selective collection: this is how the Catalan waste law has mutated

BarcelonaWhile Europe is getting down to business with legislation that tightens the noose on plastics, the Government is processing the draft Catalan waste law, which is to replace the law from 1993. In fact, its drafting has been years in the making – it began to be drafted in 2018 – and, along the way, some of the flagship measures that had been planned have disappeared or have gone from being obligations to voluntary or promotional measures, such as the obligation to provide fiscal bonuses to citizens who carry out good selective collection. On the other hand, ambitious points for 2030 are incorporated, such as the obligation for municipalities to implement efficient collection systems or the prohibition of single-use cups at festive, cultural or sporting events. According to sources from the Department of Territory, the changes are due to the European and state context: they argue that it has changed "significantly" and that many measures from the 2022 text are now mandatory, such as the deposit, return and refund system (SDDR).

If European regulations focus on the design, composition and reuse of packaging, Catalonia emphasizes collection, taxation, reuse and the principle of polluter pays. That is, whoever generates or puts waste into circulation must assume – in accordance with their responsibilities – the costs derived from its prevention and management. One of the pillars of the new regulation will be to oblige municipalities to have, before December 31, 2030, high-efficiency selective collection systems, such as door-to-door collection or closed containers. The Government maintains that these are the models that have shown the best results in the more than 500 Catalan municipalities that already have them. "Like any change, it can generate some rejection," admit sources from the department, who consider that the implementation, if done with information, participation and the capacity to correct mismatches, "should not be problematic." In larger towns, they add, the focus has been on closed containers.

The preliminary draft, however, will not oblige municipalities to apply a fee directly linked to the amount of waste each household generates, which is known as a behavioral fee. Payment per generation remains an option for local authorities, as a mechanism to encourage waste prevention and correct separation, while the law does establish that municipal fees must cover the real cost of the service. The Government argues that the behavioral fee is only "one more means" to achieve European objectives and recalls that there are municipalities that already meet them without applying it.

The main difference between this draft and the one was put on the table by the Government of Pere Aragonès in 2022 is particularly relevant in packaging, one of the areas where the European Union is focusing much of its efforts with the new European regulation on packaging and packaging waste (PPWR). The previous text proposed banning unnecessary or superfluous food packaging within two years, eliminating plastic rings for grouping cans and bottles by 2024, and obliging supermarkets over 400 square meters to dedicate 20% of their sales area to products without primary packaging, including bulk sales and reusable packaging. The current proposal does not reproduce these prohibitions, and instead opts for "prevention, reuse, and adaptation to the new circular economy framework.

According to the Catalan executive, the changes between draft bills aim to avoid the duplication of norms already established by Brussels or the State (2022). They consider that it makes no sense to set objectives above European ones while these are not yet met. The new law focuses ambition on selective collection, with the aim of reaching 70% by 2035 and minimizing landfill waste. In fact, the Catalan Waste Agency will be renamed the Circular Economy Agency, a change that reflects this approach: fewer own prohibitions and more adaptation to the European framework.

The hurdle of selective collection

In this regard, the Generalitat sets more demanding selective collection objectives than those established by state regulations: the percentage of municipal waste collected separately must reach at least 65% by 2032 and 70% by 2035. Currently, according to data from Territori, 50.1% of collected municipal waste is materially valued (recycled). The objective is to reach 65% by 2035 and limit landfill waste to 10%.

This aspect of the law is what may generate more resistance and it is feared that it could delay the approval and entry into force of the norm by months – and even years. For the moment, the public information and hearing phase will be extended until October 15. After analyzing the contributions and preparing the mandatory reports, the Government plans to process the text in Parliament by the end of 2026.

Regarding reuse, the new proposal talks about systems for managing industrial and commercial reusable packaging, traceability, and mechanisms for packaging to return to the circuit. The 2022 text was more concrete and ambitious: it set a target of 25% reuse of beverage packaging for domestic consumption by 2025 and 35% by 2030, while the hotel and restaurant industry had to offer reusable packaging and return systems for takeaway food. However, this latter obligation is already part of the new European framework.

The difference is also clear in the prohibitions. The 2022 text proposed eliminating certain single-use products and formats as early as 2024, from single-use beverage packaging in public buildings to oxodegradable plastics or certain intentionally added microplastics. The current draft opts for more gradual timelines and incorporates measures such as the prohibition of single-use cups at events or single-use courtesy products in the hotel industry.