Plastics and packaging laws in Spain

The national legislation concerning plastic packaging and waste in Spain is as follows:

1. Act 7/2022 of 8 April on waste and contaminated soils for a circular economy (“Act 7/2022”) (“Ley 7/2022, de 8 de abril, de residuos y suelos contaminados para una economía circular”).
   This Act aims at regulating waste management by promoting measures to prevent the generation of waste and mitigate the adverse impacts on human health and the environment associated with its generation and management, improving efficiency in the use of resources. To this end, the law also lays down a compendium of extended producer responsibility obligations.
2. Royal Decree 1055/2022, of December 27, on packaging and packaging waste (“RD 1055/2022”) (“Real Decreto 1055/2022, de 27 de diciembre, de envases y residuos de envases”).
   This Royal Decree aims at preventing and reducing the impact of packaging and the management of packaging waste throughout its life cycle on the environment. In addition, new obligations are established regarding labelling, registration, single-use plastics, recyclability of packaging.
3. In order to achieve the above objectives, measures are established and aimed at ensuring, as a first priority, the prevention of the production of packaging waste, and secondly, the reuse of packaging, recycling and other forms of recovery of packaging waste, with the objective of avoiding or reducing its disposal. Royal Decree 293/2018, 18 may, on reducing the consumption of plastic bags (“RD 293/2018”) (“Real Decreto 293/2018, de 18 de mayo, sobre reducción del consume de bolsas de plástico”).

The purpose of this Royal Decree is to adopt measures to reduce the consumption of plastic carrier bags, with the aim of preventing and reducing the adverse impact that the waste generated by these plastic bags has on the environment, with special attention to the damage caused to aquatic ecosystems, and on certain economic activities, such as fishing or tourism, among others. It also aims at avoiding the loss of material and economic resources caused by the abandonment of plastic bags and their dispersion in the environment.

With the publication of RD 1055/2022, the aim is to move progressively towards the end of the marketing of single-use plastic packaging. Thus, with the publication of this law, the aim is to promote the use of reusable bags, and to optimise the use of single-use bags, in order to reduce the unnecessary consumption of these containers. Among the measures that have been adopted with the publication of this new regulation, we highlight the following:

1. Promoters of festive, cultural or sporting events, both those supported by public administrations in sponsorship, organisation or any other formula and those organised by the private sector, from 1 July 2023, will implement alternatives to the sale and distribution of drinks in single-use containers and cups, also guaranteeing access to non-packaged drinking water;
2. Comply with the separate collection objectives for single-use plastic bottles established in the Law;
3. Comply with the labelling obligations of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/2151 of 17 December 2020;
4. Product producers are required, as part of his extended producer responsibility obligations, to finance and organise, in whole or in part, the collection and treatment of single-use packaging waste;
5. To establish of a deposit, return and refund system for single-use packaging;
6. From 1 January 2023, food retailers with a floor area of 400m2 or more shall allocate at least 20% of their sales area to the offer of products presented without primary packaging, including sales in bulk or reusable packaging;
7. From 3 July 2024, only single-use plastic products listed in Part C of Annex IV to Act 7/2022 (single-use plastic products subject to ecodesign requirements) whose lids and caps remain attached to the container during the intended use phase of that product may be placed on the market. For this purpose, metal caps and closures with plastic seals shall not be considered to be plastic;
8. Producers of single-use plastics, as a consequence of the extended producer responsibility scheme, will have to bear a number of costs and expenses related to the management of such waste;

Act 7/2022 defines the scope of producers’ responsibility, establishing the obligations to which, by means of the corresponding regulatory development, producers may be subject, both in the design and production phase of their products and during the management of the waste deriving from their use, and sets out how to comply with those, either individually or by means of collective systems.

Furthermore, the Act establishes that the producers of products that become waste through their use, and in application of the "polluter pays" principle, are involved in the prevention and organisation of waste management, and promoting management in accordance with the principles inspiring the legislation.

The RD 1055/2022 also extends the regulation, specifying the obligations that can be imposed by Royal Decree on product producers, including the deposit, return and refund system, and defines the waste-management items to be financed by producers and the control mechanisms for the individual and collective systems that are created. To this end, the producer will have to choose between an individual or collective extended producer responsibility system. In Spain,

Thus, in Spain there are several extended producer responsibility systems for packaging:

• Packaging of phytosanitary products and fertilizers: AEVAE.
• Lightweight packaging and paperboard: ECOEMBES.
• Glass packaging:  ECOVIDRIO.
• Medicinal product packaging and expired medicines: SIGRE.

RD 1055/2022 establishes that consumers of packaged products must return packaging waste subject to the deposit, return and refund system to traders and distributors in the conditions of conservation and cleanliness defined by the extended producer responsibility systems. Thus, the following systems are established:

1. For producers of products who place reusable packaging on the market, the following obligations are imposed:
   1. To charge its customers, up to the final consumer and as a deposit, an amount for each unit of packaging transacted (EUR 10 cents or more for each unit of packaging).
   2. To accept the return of used packaging whose type, format, or brand they have placed on the market, returning the same amount that would have been charged.
   3. Product producers and distributors shall only be obliged to accept the return of packaging for products placed on the market by them.
   4. Consumers who wish to return used packaging must return it to the distributors, or to the producers of the product, in the conditions of conservation and cleanliness defined by the producers.
   5. Once the reusable packaging reaches the end of its useful life, the product producers must deliver it separately by material to an authorised manager, for its correct treatment and will have to bear the financial cost of doing so.
2. A specific deposit, refund and take-back system is in place for plastic bottles up to 3 litres for the case that the recycling and recovery objectives (Article 10 of RD 1055/2022) are not met. Please see Article 47 of RD 1055/022. It must be effective within two years of non-compliance.
3. For other single-use packaging not covered by Article 47, product producers who place such packaging on the market may voluntarily set up a deposit, return and refund system (without the obligation of having to apply the minimum amount of EUR 10 cents).

The above-mentioned obligations shall be fulfilled through individual or collective extended producer responsibility schemes (e.g., Ecoembes).

Act 7/2022 introduces a new tax on any non-reusable packaging containing plastic. The tax base will be the quantity of plastic, expressed in kilograms. The tax rate will be EUR 0.45 / kg of plastic.

The placing on the market of intentionally added plastic microspheres of less than 5 millimetres shall be prohibited.¹

Act 7/2022 promotes waste prevention by including concrete and quantifiable targets:

• A reduction in the weight of waste produced of 13% by 2025 (compared to that generated in 2010) and of 15% by 2030.
• By 2035, the percentage of separately collected municipal waste shall be at least 50 % by weight of the total municipal waste generated.
• By 2025, the preparation for re-use and recycling of municipal waste is increased to a minimum of 55% by weight; at least 5% by weight of the total is preparation for re-use, mainly of textile waste, waste electrical and electronic equipment, furniture and other waste suitable for preparation for re-use. An increase of 5% every five years will be applied to reach 65% by 2035.
• For single-use plastic products listed in Part A of Annex IV to Act 7/2022, the following timetable for reduction of placing on the market is established: 
  i) in 2026, a reduction of 50% by weight is to be achieved, compared to 2022 and in 2030, a reduction of 70% by weight is to be achieved, compared to 2022.
• The following separate collection targets² are set for the plastic products referred to in Annex IV(E) of Act 7/2022 for recycling: (i) by 2023 at the latest, 70 % by weight of that placed on the market; (ii) by 2025 at the latest, 77 % by weight of that placed on the market; (iii) by 2027 at the latest, 85 % by weight of that placed on the market; (iv) by 2029 at the latest, 90 % by weight of that placed on the market.
• Extended producer responsibility schemes shall ensure at least an overall separate collection by weight of all household packaging waste of 65% by 2025, 75% by 2030 and 85% by 2035 for products placed on the market by producers participating in the scheme.

Article 6 of RD 293/2018 introduced the obligation for the competent authority to carry out awareness-raising campaigns on the negative environmental consequences of excessive plastic consumption.

We must considerate two Royal Decrees regarding recycled materials in food packaging:

1. The Royal Decree 846/2011 of 17 June 2011, establishing the conditions, which must be met by recycled polymer-based raw materials for use in materials and articles coming into contact with food (“Real Decreto 846/2011, de 17 de junio, por el que se establecen las condiciones que deben cumplir las materias primas a base de materiales poliméricos reciclados para su utilización en materiales y objetos destinados a entrar en contacto con alimentos”). The Royal Decree authorises the marketing and use of raw materials based on recycled polyethylene terephthalate obtained in Spain for plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with packaged drinking water, provided that certain conditions, among others, are fulfilled:
   1. The final containers must contain at least 50% virgin PET.
   2. The manufacturers of packaging using recycled PET as raw material must notify the competent health authorities of the Autonomous Community of the location of the industry using this material, in order to facilitate its official control.
2. The marketing and use of raw materials based on recycled polymeric material for use in materials and articles intended to come into contact with food, which are legally authorised in other EU member states is authorised, with identical restrictions and limitations that exist there, for the same purpose, in accordance with the principle of mutual recognition. The Royal Decree 847/2011 of 17 June 2011, which establishes the positive list of substances permitted for the manufacture of plastic materials intended to come into contact with food. (“Real Decreto 847/2011, de 17 de junio, por el que se establece la lista positive de sustancias permitidas para la fabricación de materiales poliméricos destinados a entrar en contacto con los alimentos”).

RD 293/2018 establishes different measures with the aim of reducing the consumption of plastic bags. All the measures will affect both plastic bags delivered at points of sale of goods or products and those that may be supplied in online sales, as well as those delivered at home. Plastic envelopes used for distance selling are excluded.

In addition, in relation to marking obligations, we highlight the following:

• It is prohibited to use words such as "environmentally friendly", or any other equivalent which could lead to the abandonment of packaging in the environment.
• The obligatory use of the green dot is modified, which now becomes voluntary in Spain (unlike in other jurisdictions); and
• A series of obligations are established that must be effective as of 1 January 2025: 
  • For household packaging: as mentioned above, it is compulsory to indicate on the packaging the container in which the packaging is to be disposed.
  • For reusable packaging: it is compulsory to include the symbol associated with the Deposit, Return and Refund System (DRS)³.
  • For compostable plastic packaging: it is mandatory to comply with UNE EN 13432: 2001 standard certification.
  • For industrial or compostable packaging: it is mandatory to include the indication "do not leave in the environment".

¹ In relation to this restriction, the provisions of Annex XVII of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 (REACH Regulation) shall apply.

² In the event that the targets set in 2023 or 2027 are not met, a deposit, return and refund system for this packaging shall be implemented at national level throughout the territory within two years to ensure that the targets are met in 2025 and 2029.

³ The symbol has not yet been established by the competent Ministry.

This chapter was last updated on December 2023 and does not reflect any subsequent developments in the law.