Spain does not comply with the recycling target for PET/rPET plastic beverage bottles and is compelled to introduce a Deposit Return System (DRS) nationwide by the end of 2026. The Ministry for Ecological Transition recently published a report revealing that, of the 214,039 tonnes of plastic beverage bottles placed on the market in 2023, only 88,499 tonnes were recovered, equating to just 41.3%. Law 7/2022 on Waste and Contaminated Soils for a Circular Economy sets a 70% recycling target and stipulates that if this is not achieved, a DRS must be implemented within two years. This system, widely adopted in several European countries, achieves recovery rates close to 90%.

According to Sofía Garín, project manager at inèdit, “European legislative pressure will drive reuse, but so will the challenges of accessing raw materials.” In this regard, the expert from inèdit points out that the EU currently requires a certain percentage of recycled material to be included in packaging. She adds that “the fact that PET is the only post-consumer recycled material that can come into contact with food in Spain, as per the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), puts strain on the market by driving up rPET prices. Therefore, if it is not effectively recovered, how can we ensure economic sustainability in the market?”

The DRS works as follows: consumers pay a deposit when purchasing, for example, a bottle of soda; when they return the empty container to a store, they get their deposit back. Setting up a DRS requires significant investments in washing facilities, reusable bottles, and logistical infrastructure, but in the long run, it results in savings on waste management and improves the quality of recycled materials. “The challenge is to develop a profitable and sustainable system, and often the key lies in reverse logistics and distribution systems,” says Garín.

In addition to operational savings, DRS schemes bring environmental benefits, especially when implemented on a large scale. According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, they can deliver up to a 69% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and up to a 76% reduction in water and material use. In Catalonia, the reWINE pilot project, in which inèdit participated, concluded that reusing bottles in the Catalan wine sector could reduce the sector’s carbon footprint by 28%.

At inèdit, we have been working for years on the transition to reusable packaging with various companies, such as Ametller Origen, Mahou, and Bodegas Torres.