When traveling abroad, the first things that come to mind may be sightseeing, going on tours full of history, enjoying the country’s cuisine, etc. However, when I was in Barcelona I found myself fascinated by the large colorful bins found on every other street. Now I know most of us in San Francisco are used to our green, blue, and black bins for simple composting, recycling, and trash, but Spain has taken it to an entirely new level, having an option of five different waste bins opening up a greater opportunity for the community to reduce waste and create a sustainable environment in Spain. 

Waste bins in Spain with openings color-coded in grey, green, yellow, brown, and blue

What do these colorful bins even mean, and where does all this waste go?

Spain has created a system in which you are able to separate your trash even further, more than our practices allow in the U.S. Many of these bins undergo specific processes in order to maintain sustainable practices. For the past 45 years in Spain, all organized representation of paper and cardboard production has belonged to a company called ASPAPEL, which is the country’s most prominent paper manufacturing organization. Besides this, ASPAPEL promotes itself as a model of sustainability, promoting practices in favor of forest management, decarbonization, recycling, and overall production process improvements. While we are used to our blue bins being for all recycling products, in Spain it is only used for paper and cardboard products: cardboard boxes, cereal boxes, newspapers/magazines, wrapping paper, unsoiled food containers, envelopes, etc. All of this waste is shredded and made into bales, which are ground down into a pulp which is then dried and flattened to be remade into new materials. These bins don’t include paper towels and napkins used for food cleanup; those products go into the brown bin which contains all food and garden waste, as well as any paper products used in a kitchen or garden environment. These are some of the most crucial bins, as the organic contents make up about a third of all household waste. The contents of these organic bins, similar to those in the U.S., are repurposed and sent to specific treatment plants which turn these contents into compost products that are sent to farms. Looking at the green bin, its main purpose is for the recycling of glass packaging and products: glass bottles, perfume bottles, glass jars, wine bottles, etc. Recycling glass doesn’t include any kitchenware, mirrors, crystal glasses, etc, since all of the glass is processed, ground up, and sent to a variety of manufacturers who will create new works with the reused glass. Spain’s main issue, though, comes from the amount of plastic waste produced. They stand as the fifth largest plastic bottle producer in the EU, as of 2023, so their recycling agenda is much needed. During the beginning of 2023, Spain also implemented a tax on plastic products to hopefully reduce the amount of non-recycled plastic used in products. All plastic products are disposed of in the yellow bins, including plastic bottles, plastic bags, yogurt containers, styrofoam, toothpaste tubes, slides, etc. Besides plastic waste, the yellow bins are also used for recycling metal products such as metal caps, tin foil, aluminum trays, aerosols, spray cans, etc. As of 2021, the highest recycled material in Spain has been metal products at 82.6% and the lowest being plastic waste at only 45.66%. 

Figure 1. Recycling Rate of Packaging Waste in Spain 2021 (includes household, commercial & industrial packaging)

A majority of these products are processed by a Spanish non-profit called Ecoembes, which ensures the recycling and handling of all household packaging waste like cans, plastic products, etc. Ecoembes encouraged recycling within households by creating an app called Reciclos. It allows the users to take photos of themselves recycling bottles or other plastic into the yellow bins. This rewards them with prizes which, in turn, further promotes sustainable practices within households. We have looked at all of the recycling bins, but what about overall waste? All general waste that doesn’t fit into any of these categories goes into the grey bins: debris, hygiene products, etc. A majority of this waste is either sent to a landfill, or in some cases the waste is processed and sent to an incinerator to lessen the amount put into a landfill. As a way to progress sustainable efforts and reduce the amount of unneeded waste that goes into landfills, many companies have arranged for their own donation bins to be placed around the country as well. For example, the annual consumption of textile products per person is between 7 – 10 kg, most of this inevitably ending up in landfills or in an incinerator, so companies like Humana and Roba Amiga have established green or orange bins in order to collect used clothing, textile, and footwear. On average, these bins collect around 18,000 tons of clothing and shoes every year. Looking at Humana’s company, about 40% of the collections are sent abroad, about 14% are used for Humana’s second-hand stores all around Spain, and the rest of the clothing that can not be reused is either sold to textile companies to recycle the product or sent to a waste treatment facility.

Figure 2. Municipal Waste Generation and Treatment in Spain between 2016-2020 (in thousand tonnes)

Have these systems been making a beneficial impact, or are they a waste of time?

The waste sorting system that Spain set up has proven to have an overall positive effect on community connection and sustainability efforts within the country. In 2000, Spain produced a larger amount of waste per capita in comparison to the European average, which inspired Spain to improve their recycling rates. By 2021, Spain had decreased the overall rate of waste per capita by about 32.5%, more than 10% below the European average. As with anything, the numbers still aren’t perfect and can be improved. In Europe, around 25.8 million tons of plastic waste is generated, and as of 2021 less than 30% of that is collected for recycling.

Figure 3. Municipal Waste Recycling Rates in Europe by Country in 2010 vs 2022

With continuous efforts, Spain will be able to have an even higher rate of recycling as well as a reduced rate of waste produced. Looking at all the progression that Spain has made, let this inspire you to continue properly sorting your waste to reduce the amount of waste going into our landfills.