WASTE MANAGEMENT IN

SPAIN. TROUBLES AND

CHANGES IN THE 21ST
CENTURY
Manuel Vega Rodriguez
INDEX

1- INTRODUCTION
2- SOLID WASTE AND PROBLEMS
3- THE SPAIN´S SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT
4- STATE PROGRAM FOR PREVENTION OF WASTE IN
SPAIN (2014-2020)
5- CONCLUSIONS
6- REFERENCES
1- INTRODUCTION

Environment is being damaged all around the world by several main

factors, such as:

- global warming gases emissions

- excessive resources extraction
- persistent organic pollutants release…

Waste is one of them, MSW creates special concern among the

public due to its close relationship with the daily life of the lay
person.

In Spain, the increase of MSW generation began during the second

half of the 20th century, with the economic development after the
post-civil war depression.

2- SOLID WASTE AND PROBLEMS

Solid Waste is the waste produced by households (domestic waste)

and commerce collected inside a municipal area. Nowadays it
typically includes these kinds of waste:
- Biodegradable: food and kitchen waste, green waste...
- Recyclable material: paper, glass, cans, certain plastics, etc.
- Inert: construction and demolition waste, dirt, rocks, debris...
- Composite: clothing and similar, Tetra Packs, toys....
- Hazardous and toxic: paints, light bulbs, fluorescent tubes, spray
cans, fertilizer and pesticide containers, batteries...

The amount and nature of MSW produced in a community depends

on the characteristics of the area.

On an economically developed urban modern region the amount of

MSW will be much higher than in a developing rural area. In the
same way, waste produced in a developed region will have a high
percentage of plastic and packages, contrasting with the
predominantly biodegradable waste in poorer regions.

Figure 1. MSW and GDP per capita in Greece and Norway.

The problem of solid waste and its disposal has become a crucial
issue at a global level since the waste we generate, in addition to
causing significant social and economic expense to governments,
has a high environmental cost for the entire population and the
planet.

The MSW, commonly known as garbage, they are only one piece of
the enormous puzzle that makes up environmental pollution and
are the direct result of the production systems and consumption
patterns that we have today.


3- SPAIN´S SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT HISTORY

The first Spanish Waste Law was passed in 1985, forcing municipalities to
approach the problem of waste and to take measures for protecting the
environment. The 1997 Packaging Law (11/1997) and the 1998 Second
Waste Law (10/1998) aimed at establishing the responsibility and
obligations of each party involved in the waste management process.

The Municipal Solid Waste Plan, covering the period 2000-2006 and
supported by the Second Waste Law, introduced specific targets, and
discussed the distribution of funds for infrastructure development and the
launch of information/awareness campaigns.

In December 2008, the Ministers’ Council of Spain approved the

Integrated National Waste Plan for the period 2008-2015 (Justice and
Environment, 2011). The plan provides a comprehensive analysis of the
waste management situation, and in comparison, with the previous plan,
incorporates several other waste streams (EEA, 2010) and is based on
regional waste plans for all seventeen autonomous regions. The plan
includes many qualitative and quantitative targets to be achieved by 2012
for the different waste management options as well as targets applying
specifically to regions (Spain, 2012).

In July 2011 the new law (22/2011) on waste and contaminated soils came
into force, transposing the Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC) into
Spanish legislation and adopting all related targets and objectives
(Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment, 2012).

Waste legislation in Spain is administered by the relevant authorities at

different administrative levels.

- At the national level, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and

Environment is responsible for the national plans and attends to
the authorization and inspection of waste shipments to/from
third countries
- At the regional level, the autonomous regions are responsible for
issuing strategic waste management plans for each specific
region. They also attend to the authorization, inspection and
 sanction of waste management activities and the shipment of
waste to/from EU countries.
- At the local level, the municipal authorities are responsible for
the management of the urban waste (domestic, industry and
commerce, offices, and services), including separate collection
and transportation of MSW.

Figure 2. MSW evolution in Spain, EU15 and EU25 from 1990 to 2004 (Environmental Ministry of Spain).

The municipal solid waste is divided in some groups:

- 49% is organic matter

- 18% is paper
- 12% are plastics
- 8% is glass

The 77% of MSW are potentially recyclable or recoverable

According with the Spanish Environment Ministry:

- 49% os MSW is directly landfilled

- 7% is incinerated
- 31% is sent to composting plants
- 9% is selectively collected
- 3,2% ends in illegal dumping sites
- From the organic MSW sent to composting
- plants only 10% is actually composted due to its low quality
4- STATE PROGRAM FOR PREVENTION OF WASTE IN
SPAIN (2014-2020)

Prevention in the generation of waste is the commitment of the

waste policy that provides the most environmental benefits, which
is why it occupies the first position in the hierarchy of waste and is
key both in the Roadmap to advance towards an Efficient Europe in
the use of the resources of the 2020 Strategy of the European
Union, as in the Waste Framework Directive. This Directive includes
specific obligations in this area, pursuant to which the Member
States shall draw up waste prevention programs no later than
December 12, 2013, with the ultimate objective of decoupling the
increase in waste generation from the economic one. Therefore, the
Kingdom of Spain has the obligation to have a Waste Prevention
Program, in accordance with said community requirement, before
December 12, 2013. For its part, Law 22/2011, of July 28, of waste
and contaminated soil, establishes in its article 15 that the public
administrations, in their respective areas of competence, will
approve waste prevention programs before December 12, 2013, in
which the amount of prevention, reduction of the objectives will be
established of waste generated and reduction of the amount of
hazardous or polluting substances, the existing prevention
measures will be described, and the usefulness of the examples of
measures indicated in annex IV of the aforementioned law, or other
appropriate measures, will be evaluated.

The State Waste Prevention Program 2014-2020 develops the waste

prevention policy, in accordance with current regulations to
advance in meeting the objective of reducing waste generated in
2020 by 10% with respect to the weight of waste generated. in
2010. The State Program describes the current situation of
prevention in Spain, performs an analysis of existing prevention
measures and assesses their effectiveness. This program is
configured around four strategic lines aimed at influencing the key
elements of waste prevention:

- reduction of the amount of waste,

- reuse and extension of the useful life of products,
- Reduction of the content of harmful substances in materials and
products, and reduction of adverse impacts on human health
and the environment, of the waste generated.

Each strategic line identifies the products or sectors of activity in

which priority action will be taken, proposing the prevention
measures that have been shown to be most effective in each of the
areas, following the classification established in Annex IV of the
Framework Directive on Waste and of the Waste Law (measures
that affect the establishment of the framework conditions for the
generation of waste (regulatory legal framework, planning and
action of the administrations), the design, production and
distribution phase of the products, and the phase of consumption
and use). The implementation of these measures depends on
multiple actions in different fields in which the following agents are
involved:

- manufacturers, the distribution sector and the service sector,

consumers and end users, and
- Public Administrations.
- Likewise, the Program foresees a biennial evaluation of its
results through a series of indicators.

The State Waste Prevention Program has been sent to the

Autonomous Communities, the Ministerial Departments and the
interested sectors. Likewise, it has been submitted to a public
hearing through its publication on the website of this Ministry, it
has been presented at a Sectoral Conference and to the
Environmental Advisory Council, to finally be approved by
Agreement of the Council of Ministers on December 13, 2013.
5- CONCLUSIONS

Despite all the Laws and Plans that have been introduced during the
last 20-25 years dedicated to solving the problem posed by waste,
we can see that no improvement has been seen.
We have tried to show the main problems as well as possible
solutions. With regard to the new plan, there is no certainty about
its success, since it is too weak in order to achieve the waste
reduction objectives, since the increase in incineration is promoted,
which is considered as elimination according to the European
Commission and not as a solution.
Even if this new plan is effective, it would take many years to see
results.
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