Around twenty business organizations (*) related to the packaging value chain have put into value a declaration of commitments to advance the sustainability of packaging with the aim that all of them form part of the circular economy. Business organizations have participated in the conference 'Business Commitment to the Circular Economy in Packaging', organized today within the CEOE Sustainable Development and Environment Commission from the conviction that it is necessary to raise awareness about the need for packaging and its correct recovery and treatment.
The associations that have participated in the conference bring together more than a million companies, large and small, from the sectors of raw materials and manufacturers of packaging, packers, commerce and waste managers. The broad spectrum of the packaging value chain includes designers, producers, manufacturers, distributors, valorisers and also Administration and consumers. One of the main conclusions of the day is that all of them are part of the solution as long as they work from coordination and collaboration.
At the meeting, it was stressed that the containers are designed to fulfill a series of functions related to the product they contain, such as protecting, transporting, extending the useful life, guaranteeing safety and informing, and, therefore, they are necessary for the consumer , for society and for the environment. With this starting point, emphasis was placed on the responsibility of recovering them, reusing them and, when this is not possible, treating them appropriately for their revaluation as a resource and, thus, reintegrating them into the economic cycle.
This would close the virtuous circle of the circular economy, which imitates the cycle of nature, and whose objective is to take advantage of everything and transform waste into resources. With this, it is also possible to save costs and create jobs, giving a boost to the economy.
The generation and treatment of waste is one of the main challenges of modern societies from the perspective of environmental protection and the loss of valuable resources with high economic impact. The sectors that are part of the packaging value chain are aware of the need to carry out a socially responsible management of resources – understanding that waste is also responsible – and are working on innovative solutions for its recovery and treatment.
Within this framework, the support of the Administration is necessary to facilitate and promote projects that allow progress towards the circular economy with improvements through R + D + i, financial support and guarantee of legal certainty. For this, in addition, the necessary mechanisms must be activated to help the consumer to deposit the containers in the appropriate container so that they are managed and recycled properly and do not end up in the landfill or abandoned in nature.
(*) ACE (Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment), ANFEVI (National Association of Manufacturers of Glass Containers), CONFEMETAL (Spanish Confederation of Metal Business Organizations), AME (Spanish Metallographic Association), ASPAPEL (Spanish Association of Manufacturers of Pulp, Paper and Cardboard), FEIQUE (Business Federation of the Spanish Chemical Industry), EsPlásticos (Plastics Platform – AIMPLAS, ANAIP, CICLOPLAST, PlasticsEuropeIberia), PACKNET (Spanish Technological Platform of Container and Packaging), AECOC (Association of Manufacturers and Distributors), ADELMA (Association of Detergents and Cleaning, Maintenance and Related Products Companies), STANPA (National Association of Perfumery and Cosmetics), FIAB (Spanish Federation of Food and Beverages), ANGED (National Association of Large Companies Distribution), ACES (Association of Spanish Supermarket Chains), ASEDAS (Spanish Association of Distributors, Self-services and Supermarkets ), CEC (Spanish Confederation of Commerce), ANARPLA (National Association of Plastic Recyclers), REPACAR (Spanish Association of Recyclers, Paper and Cardboard Recovery), FER (Spanish Federation of Recovery and Recycling), Business Association of Restoration Brands , ECOEMBES and ECOVIDRIO.
