At the Council of Ministers meeting on Tuesday 18 May, the Spanish Government approved the Preliminary Draft Bill (APL) on Waste and Contaminated Soil. This legislation, which restricts single-use plastics and introduces new taxes on the production and incineration of plastics, will enable the Ministry for Ecological Transition to bring Spain into line with the requests from the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) and the European Parliament to significantly reduce plastic waste.
Although the Agency was unable to quantify the exact harm that microplastics may cause to our bodies, it concluded that the risk to human health is evident. Consequently, ECHA submitted the results of the study to the European Commission, together with a recommendation: to drastically reduce the use of this type of plastic.
The European Commission amends legislation on plastic waste
The European Commission took note of the evidence found by ECHA. And, shortly afterwards, the Directive (EU) 2019/904 of 5 June 2019, on reducing the environmental impact of certain plastic products, the deadline for transposition of which is 3 July 2021.
Since then, the Spanish Government has been tasked with implementing national regulations to incorporate the European Commission’s legislative changes in the field of plastic waste. And as a result of this need, the Preliminary Draft Bill on Waste and Contaminated Land, which was finally approved by the Council of Ministers last Tuesday, 18 May 2021.
The ‘Waste and Contaminated Land Act’, submitted to Parliament for final approval
The Waste and Contaminated Land Act, together with that of Climate Change, have so far been the two flagship projects of the Ministry for Ecological Transition, as part of the European programme for Circular Economy. TAfter several months spent drafting and revising the APL, the Council of Ministers finally referred it to the next stage on 18 May, meaning it will soon be debated in the Congress of Deputies with a view to its expected approval.
Meanwhile, the companies in the affected sectors in support of the ban on single-use plastics and microplastics -including the cosmetics sector—which was already aware of the requirements of the new law through the European Directive—have been adapting their products to comply with the forthcoming regulations. For the most part, manufacturers have already replaced these small plastic items with alternatives that do not generate waste harmful to the environment.
Among other objectives, the new Waste and Contaminated Land Act:
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- It will make it possible to ban a large number of single-use plastics. To withdraw them from the market and replace them with materials that are less harmful to the environment.
- It will significantly reduce the use of microplastics
- Subirá hasta el %30 el mínimo de plástico reciclado a usar para la fabricación de botellas de plástico. This will help to reduce the production of new plastics.
- Fines for littering plastic waste in the natural environment are set to increase. Now, very serious offences Serious offences will result in a fine of between €50,000 and €2,000,000.
- It will introduce new taxes on the production and incineration of plastics.
- It will lead to a significant reduction in plastic waste globally and in Spain.
- It will require bars, restaurants and hotels to serveFree, unpackaged water.
