Spain is a leading country in plastic recycling. This is according to a study by the Equiplast show, which highlights the commitment of this sector to sustainability, as well as its capacity to revalue the material, which places it number two in Europe. The report also reveals the importance of this industry in the country, which has a turnover of more than 27,000 M€ per year. The ‘Sectorial Report on Plastics in Spain’, promoted by Equiplast, Fira de Barcelona’s International Plastics and Rubber Meeting, which takes place from 30 May to 2 June at the Gran Via exhibition centre, together with Expoquimia, the International Chemistry Meeting, shows how in recent years, the Spanish plastics industry has made a firm and decisive commitment to recycling.

So much so that Spain, with 1.4 Mt of plastic processed in recycling plants in 2021, is the second country in the European Union in terms of recycling capacity, only surpassed by Germany, with more than 2 M, and ahead of countries such as the United Kingdom, France and Italy, according to data from the Plastics Recyclers Europe association included in this report. In this same sense, the study highlights that the mechanical recycling plants in which they treat consumer products recycled 1.12 Mt (79% of the material processed), which shows their high management capacity and that this procedure of revalorising waste into raw material is a growing trend in our country.

Spain, the second country in Europe that recycles the most plastics
Spain is a leading country in plastic recycling. This is according to a study by the Equiplast show, which highlights this sector’s commitment to sustainability, as well as its capacity to revalue the material, which places it number two in Europe. The report also reveals the importance of this industry in the country, which has a turnover of more than 27,000 M€ per year. The ‘Sectorial Report on Plastics in Spain‘, promoted by Equiplast, Fira de Barcelona’s International Plastics and Rubber Meeting, which takes place from 30 May to 2 June at the Gran Via exhibition centre, together with Expoquimia, the International Chemistry Meeting, shows how in recent years, the Spanish plastics industry has made a firm and decisive commitment to recycling.

So much so that Spain, with 1.4 Mt of plastic processed in recycling plants in 2021, is the second country in the European Union in terms of recycling capacity, only surpassed by Germany, with more than 2 M, and ahead of countries such as the United Kingdom, France and Italy, according to data from the Plastics Recyclers Europe association included in this report. In this same sense, the study highlights that the mechanical recycling plants in which they treat products from consumption recycled 1.12 Mt (79% of the material processed), which shows their high management capacity and that this procedure of revaluation of waste into raw material is a growing trend in our country.

The president of Equiplast, Bernd Roegele, states that “we cannot imagine a world without plastic, it has no substitute, but we can work to make its use and manufacture more sustainable, give it new lives and improve it so that it is more respectful of the environment” and adds “these data show that Spanish industry has already got down to work and can be an example for many, but we still have a long way to go”. The report, drawn up by the MaketAAD consultancy firm with the collaboration of the Spanish Plastics Centre (CEP), also points out that the Spanish plastics sector, made up of a total of 3,704 companies, is a powerful industry that has been able to recover its productive pulse after the pandemic.