Ecoembalajes España, S.A. (Ecoembes), is a non-profit public limited company, whose mission is the design and development of Systems for the selective collection and recovery of used packaging and packaging wastes, in order to guarantee the fulfilment of the objectives of reduction, recycling and upgrading defined in Law 11/97, of 24 April, governing packaging and packaging waste.

Ecoembes was created in 1996, in anticipation of Law 11/97 governing Packaging and Packaging Waste This Law sets out a set of requirements the aim of which are the recovery of packaging waste, their subsequent treatment and upgrading. Specifically, these companies must market their products:

• By means of a System of Deposit and Return. Packagers, retailers, wholesalers and distributors of packaged products, or those responsible for placing the packaged products on the market, must charge their clients a specific amount for each item of packaging involved in the transaction, and they must return the same amount for the return of the empty packaging. These companies must also present a company Waste prevention plan to the Regional Administrations in keeping with the amount of waste which they generate.
• As an alternative to the above system, the companies may participate in an Integrated Management System (SIG), such as the one managed by Ecoembes, which collects the packaging, while avoiding management of the collection and recycling of this packaging by the individual companies themselves.

Ecoembes currently possesses authorization for its Management System in all of the Autonomous Communities, by means of Collaboration Agreements entered into with the Communities themselves or with the Town Councils.

Ecoembes collaborates with the Regional Administrations and City Councils in the selective collection of packaging waste, by funding the extra cost involved in the selective collection of packaging, in comparison with the cost of traditional waste collection methods. In order to fund this extra cost, packagers participating in the SIG contribute a specific amount for each package, which varies depending on its weight and the material of which it is made.

Given the fact that the company does not seek a profit, all of the contributions which Ecoembes receives from the packagers goes towards paying the cost of the described activities.