In the packaging sector we were expectant in recent times about the imminent approval of the Law on Waste and Contaminated Soils for a Circular Economy. Finally, this text, which regulates waste management in our country, was published in the Official State Gazette and came into force on 10 April.

This new regulation transposes some of the European regulations on the circular economy and includes new taxes, such as a tax from January 2023 on the manufacture, import or intra-Community acquisition of non-reusable plastic packaging incorporating virgin plastic (the non-recycled plastic content will be taxed at 0.45 euros/kilogramme) and another tax on the deposit of waste in landfills, incineration and co-incineration of waste.

The Law contemplates the increase of recycling rates, eco-design and eco-modulation, which will favour aspects such as the reduction of the carbon footprint of packaging and its management as waste, facilitating its recycling, compostability or reuse.

ITENE can help companies that want to successfully adapt to the changes and implications that the Waste Law and the new features that the future Royal Decree on Packaging and Packaging Waste will bring, such as the requirement that packaging marketed in Spain must be recyclable by 2030 and, where possible, reusable. It also includes the obligation to introduce recycled material in plastic packaging, setting specific targets for each type of packaging by 2030 (for example, a minimum of 60% recycled plastic in pallets or wholesale boxes).

These changes are not only regulatory but will have an impact on the current production model. In order to face this with guarantees, we provide our experience in the field of the circular economy both in R&D and in the consultancy and testing services that we provide to companies in this area.

Our technology centre approaches this guiding principle from a holistic point of view, whether through the development of new sustainable and advanced packaging materials and the application of eco-design, as well as new systems for the collection, transport and sorting of packaging waste and mechanical, chemical and enzymatic recycling technologies for the recovery of waste and its transformation into new materials with high added value.

We also assess whether packaging is recyclable, reusable or compostable - the latter by means of tests in our laboratories, recognised by the main certifying bodies - and we provide solutions to ensure that this is the case. In addition, we carry out life cycle analyses (LCA), quantify the carbon footprint, and can develop and verify Environmental Product Declarations (EPD).

To learn a little more about these aspects in which ITENE works, as well as other solutions in other areas related to packaging, I invite you to visit our new website, www.itene.com, which we have recently renewed. As you will see, we invite you to join the circular economy with ITENE.