Ecoembes

Fenix Partner

Ecoembes (Ecoembalajes España, S.A.) is a non-profit organization, whose corporate purpose is to devise and run systems created specifically for selective collection and recovery of packaging and packaging waste and for the ulterior treatment and upgrading of said waste. This is undertaken in order to guarantee the fulfillment of the goals (recycling and valorization) established by the Law 11/97 of April 24, regarding packaging and packaging waste.

Ecoembes was found in 1996, before the Law 11/97 on packaging and packaging waste arised. Law 11/97 of April 24, regarding packaging and packaging waste, was developed in accordance with European Directive 94/62/CE, its purpose being the prevention and reduction of the impact packaging is having on the environment. Law 11/97 also deals with packaging waste handling throughout its life cycle and sets a series of recycling and other related objectives, in this way harmonizing standards governing the handling of packaging and packaging waste throughout the European Union. Companies must commercialize their products throughout two possible options:

  • Through a system of deposit and return.
  • Alternatively, companies can join an Integrated Management System (IMS), like the one from Ecoembes which collects all packaging and prevents companies from managing it themselves.

Ecoembes has currently an authorized Management System in all Autonomous Communities in Spain. Once the Autonomous Communities authorize Ecoembes as the manager of the EMS, negotiations start leading to collaboration agreements between Ecoembes and the Autonomous Communities or with the City Councils in order to develop in each locality the selective collection of packaging and packaging waste. 

Ecoembes collaborates with the Autonomous Communities and the City Councils in the selective collection of packaging waste, financing the extra costs associated with the selective collection in comparison with the traditional collection of waste. In order to finance this extra cost, bottling and canning companies as part of the EMS, contribute to certain volume for each type of packaging that varies according to its weight and its material.

For further information please visit www.ecoembes.com

Main activities: 

In order to achieve the objectives established by law, some measures have been established: the ones oriented towards the prevention of packaging waste production, and the ones oriented towards the recycling of packaging and other valorization ways for packaging waste. Ecoembes offers continuous support to public administrations, in the definition, development and monitoring of collecting systems, waste sorting and recycling models. Ecoembes believes in the use of Life Cycle Assessment for waste management, as a tool to give answers to the valorisation of environmental consequences related to this management, very useful for decision-makers.


Role in the project: 

Within the FENIX Project, Ecoembes will facilitate data on the current situation for waste management, both from the technical and legal point of view, as well as from future perspectives.

Ecoembes will bring its knowledge, jointly with other collaborating institutions, about the processes and technologies involved in the waste cycle: collection, transport, recovery and treatment, in order to develop the models that will define the tool.

Finally, Ecoembes will facilitate public administrations and stakeholders the developed tool, with the aim to support those decisions related with services and the election of technologies, and therefore get to know the environmental implications that these entail.