The ministry of Environment, through its general manager of Envirnmental Quality and Assesment, is commited to an improvement program for the promotion of recycling as a priority basis for waste policy in Spain in te upcoming years. Within the framework of the strategy and roadmap for the 2020 ojetctives, waste is positioned as a key strategic resource in the European Union.

To achieve high recycling and reuse rates that make possible the incorporation into the Spanish and European production system through improvements in their management. The ciruclar economy is sought: “Production- Consumption- Genereation of resoruces- use the same and prodcution of new raw materials or products”

In Spain, it is already activated the program for waste prevention 2014-2020, as in Spain, it is already activated the plan for waste prevention 2014-2020, as noted in our blog, in the same way, The Ministry will review the National Integrated Waste Plan 2008-2015,  for it to contain the general lines and for them to be aligned with the long term objectives.

Currently there are “green taxes” with a great disparity of impositive figures and great variety among autonomous communities. In its report by the expert commission for the reform of the Spanish tax system, the government considers environmental taxes as fragmentary and limited.

The diversity of taxes established by the autonomous communities for the waste deposit in landfills, directly aggravates the competitive practices in the field, seeking a lower cost in the transportation of waste with respect to the tax. Another example is the case of Catalonia with specific taxes about waste incineration and construction, on the other side Andalusia on hazardous and nuclear waste. There is no homogenous tax policy for the waste sector in Spain and it is everybody’s interest that the economic agents, as waste managers and producers can better develop their economic activity (includying lower fees to avoid illegal practices) in the collection and deposit of waste.