Spain, a leading country in paper and cardboard recycling, also during the Epiphany
Spain is a leading country in the recycling of paper and cardboard. After Germany, our country is the one that recycles this material the best in the European Union, reaching 78 percent of the total produced. At Christmas and Epiphany alone, 20 percent of the paper and cardboard we consume annually is collected, a total of 873 million kilos. It is quite a challenge to manage to transform them back into paper and boxes, which is the objective of this exemplary model of circular economy.
The process starts in one of the 200.000 blue containers in Spain, where we are asked to deposit newspapers and magazines for recycling, as well as boxes, cardboard packaging, bags and wrapping paper, which multiply with the gifts in December and January.
A toy that is recycled can go a long way, as Andrea Orallo, spokesperson for the Spanish Association of Pulp, Paper and Cardboard Manufacturers (ASPAPEL), explains to COPE.
“For example, now with Christmas presents, a gift box with a toy, you have to separate the plastic window with your hands, as well as the white cork or the plastic bags to take it to the yellow container from the cardboard box that will go to the blue container,” says Orallo.
There is room for improvement because currently between 10 and 15 percent of what is collected in the blue container is not paper or cardboard but other materials. This is what is known in the industry as “unsuitable”.