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Recycling of the packaging

In order to recycle the packaging of the products we normally consume, first, the packaging units must be separated into groups, depending on the nature of the material they are made of, and later they must be deposited in selective collection containers installed on the streets of our municipalities.

Thus, cardboard and paper packaging from the blue bin goes directly to the recovery agents and recyclers. The packaging is then classified in accordance with its qualities and subsequent recycling, after which new cardboard and paper is produced.

In the case of the light packaging placed in the yellow bin, we find three very different groups, including plastic packaging, metallic packaging and briks, which must be separated before being sent to their respective recyclers. In order to be separated, they must be sent to the packaging sorting plants.

In the sorting plants, of which there are over 90 in Spain, the lightweight packaging from the yellow bin is separated into at least the following fractions: the metals, including steel and aluminium, plastics, including PET, high-density polyethylene and mixed Plastic, and finally the bricks.

Once the fractions have been correctly separated, each one of them is sent to the corresponding recycler, who will be responsible for transforming them into new raw material, with which to create new packaging or any other product for which these materials are used, such as, for example, automobile components, piping, textile fibres, etc.

The metals will go to steelworks or aluminium foundries, depending on whether the packaging is made of steel or aluminium. The different plastics, PET, High Density Polyethylene or mixed Plastic, will go to the recycler separately in different, fractions, with the same being applicable to the brick.

In order for a recycler to work with the materials originating in these plants, the recycler must fulfil a set of technical, economic and environmental requirements which guarantee the correct treatment of the packaging. Therefore, all of the recyclers who choose these materials must be duly authorized to do so and must follow a duly audited awards procedure.

In this section, we can look at the procedures for the awarding of materials originating in packaging classification plants, the application for authorization on the part of interested companies and a list of the most recent awards.