Every May 17, World Recycling Day is celebrated, a date proclaimed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) with the aim of raising awareness about the importance of reducing, reusing and recycling.

Every May 17, World Recycling Day is celebrated, a date proclaimed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) with the aim of raising awareness about the importance of reducing, reusing and recycling. In addition, it seeks to raise awareness among the population about the responsible use of raw materials, their transformation into consumer goods or the subsequent treatment of waste to collaborate in improving the environment.

In line with the above, the circular economy is presented as an alternative to transform the current linear model, which generates waste at all stages of the production chain, as it is based on extending the useful life of materials and resources as much as possible, reducing waste generation.

Precisely, according to data from The Circularity GAP Report 2022, which measures the circular economy globally and offers a comprehensive view of the economic systems that are analysed, in 2020 we only recycled 8.6% of what we use, which leaves a huge circularity gap of more than 90%.

The report also points out that in 2019 the company exceeded the limits of extraction, consuming 100,000 million tons of resources. In the current context, 70% of all global greenhouse gas emissions are related to the handling and use of materials. Reducing the extraction and use of raw materials by 28% and greenhouse gas emissions by 39% would contribute to meeting the objectives set in the Paris Agreement not to exceed the temperature increase by more than 1.5°C by the end of the century. In addition, according to the Global Resources Outlook 2019 , the extraction and processing of resources is also causing the loss of 90% of biodiversity.

In addition to these data, other factors such as population growth and economic development would double the global consumption of materials by 2060, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) through the Global Material Resources Outlook to 2060 (2018) report.

To move towards a climate-neutral European Union and achieve an efficient use of resources, several instruments and public policies have been implemented at the EU level, such as the European Green Deal; a new package of proposals to make sustainable products the norm and boost Europe’s resource independence including a Regulation on eco-design of sustainable products, a Strategy to make textiles sustainable and durable and the revision of a Construction Products Regulation which will strengthen and modernize the 2011 standard to make materials more durable, repairable, recyclable and easier to remanufacture. Also included as other measures are the 2020 Circular Economy Action Plan and associated directives such as Directive 2019/904 on reducing the impact of certain plastic products on the environment, Directive 2018/852 on packaging and packaging waste and Directive 2018/851 on waste.

At the national level, our country is progressing towards a more sustainable model through policies such as the Spanish Circular Economy Strategy “Circular Spain 2030” and its 2021-2023 Action Plan, which sets out a roadmap to promote a new model of sustainable production and consumption. In addition, in March 2022 the Congress of Deputies approved the Law on waste and contaminated soil for a circular economy in order to comply with the new European waste directives and establish measures aimed at protecting the environment and human health. It also includes objectives such as the reduction of waste produced by 13% in 2025 and 15% in 2030 compared to that generated in 2010, or measures such as curbing the generation of waste dispersed in the marine environment or the elimination of toxic substances in plastic materials intended for food products.

Along these lines, instruments such as Spain Vision 2050, the Law on Climate Change and Ecological Transition and the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, through the Strategic Project for the Recovery and Economic Transformation of the Circular Economy (PERTE for Circular Economy) are presented as key national policies for progress in the transformation towards the circular economy that allows a sustainable economy to be achieved. competitive, decarbonised and efficient in the use of resources.