Greenpeace have taken the case against Ecoembes to the European Commission at Brussels

Here is the latest actions carried out by Greenpeace Spain regarding the terrible situation of our recycling system I have translated from their webpage.

"We bring Ecoembes waste management (not) to Brussels Last week the European Commission accepted the complaint filed by Greenpeace, along with 15 other groups from all over the country, for non-compliance with the waste management targets set by Brussels. 

European regulations required Spain to reuse and recycle 50% of municipal waste in 2020, an objective that the complaint to the European Commission shows that it will not be met, since it is below 35%. In our garbage can many things go, including organic matter (40%), but another important part (almost 25%) is made up of light plastic containers, cans, cartons, paper, cardboard… managed by Ecoembes; and glass, managed by Ecovidrio. 

The rest are other minor fractions (wood, textile, others). It is evident that each fraction has its characteristics and peculiarities, and consequences for health and the environment. 

And one of the main agents who has not carried out the task entrusted to it by law for two decades has been Ecoembes, responsible for managing the yellow cube and almost half the blue one. The contamination caused by their disposable containers is another of the pandemics that our planet suffers. A silent pandemic that, day by day, is revealed to us thanks to scientific studies, is of an unimaginable magnitude.

For this reason, the complaint accepted by the European Union not only reflects the neglect of the Government of Spain, but also calls into question the very integrated waste management systems, such as Ecoembes (and Ecovidrio). 

An entity that has been doing an excellent job of greenwashing, marketing and advertising campaigns for two decades, but deplorable when it comes to preventing, reusing and incredibly recycling less than 25% of its packaging (according to the latest data provided by the Balearic Government). 

We hope that Brussels can put some order in the chaotic situation of waste management in Spain. We are at an excellent moment for the central government to change the system, make it better and really "circulate". It is easy for it, the new waste law is in imminent parliamentary procedure, to be approved. 

Madam Fourth Vice President of the Government and Minister for the Ecological Transition of the Government of Spain, do you accept the challenge from Greenpeace and the rest of the entities?"

 This case has been gathering momentum for quite some time now and watching it unfold is very very important.  It has been awful to discover that despite all our efforts to recycle the company responsible for carrying it out has been deceiving us.  It seems that they have been taking money for something they have not been doing.  Is this not a type of fraud?  What we need now is for genuine action to sort out the mess we now find ourselves in, it is really imperative that this happens.  

In the meantime I am continuing to cut down on my plastic consumption along with making my own stuff!  The results of the Soap Nuts experiments have been outstanding!  I have been using them primarily for washing clothes, washing dishes, cleaning floors and all purpose cleaning products.  I have tried them in shower wash and shampoo but they were a bit of a flop!

The blog song for today is "when the sun goes down" by the Arctic Monkeys

TTFN