More trash, more cash: Report alleges industry greenwashing conspiracy to derail anti-plastics legislation in Spain

08 Mar 2021 --- Spanish nonprofit Ecoembes is under fire following an investigation revealing evidence the organization is attempting to derail environmental waste legislation under the guise of a recycling scheme.

Analysts from the Dutch Changing Markets Foundation are branding the scheme an ineffective “smokescreen” designed to protect major plastic polluters.

Ecoembes, which describes itself as an “organization that cares for the environment through recycling and the eco-design of packaging in Spain,” represents major FMCG companies like Coca-Cola, Danone and Unilever.

Under a project named “Reciclos,” Ecoembes intends to coordinate waste collection throughout Spain by using deposit and reward schemes connected to consumers’ mobile phones. The scheme is currently being trialed in select regions, with a nationwide roll-out intended this year. 

However, a report by Changing Markets titled “More trash more cash: Who is really behind the plastic crisis in Spain” claims the scheme is bound to fail and was contrived to prevent a deposit return scheme (DRS), which would more effectively tackle plastic pollution, from being enacted in Spain. 

Ximena Banegas, a campaigns advisor at Changing Markets Foundation, tells PackagingInsights: “Reciclos is one of the worst greenwashing projects we found in our investigation.”

“Ecoembes promotes it and as such probably has buy-in from the companies that are their members and shareholders, such as Mercadona and other Spanish retailers and big consumer goods companies like Coca-Cola and Unilever.” 

The report also details how the failed litter collection policies in Spain, which is reportedly one of the worst plastic polluters in Europe, are costing Spanish taxpayers over €744 million (US$883 million) every year. 

Ecoembes is hitting back at the findings, saying the report is misleading, that its organization is completely nonprofit and the Reciclos scheme in its early stages. 

Reciclos greenwashing? 
Reciclos was founded in 2019. Álvaro Otero Cavero, a spokesperson for Ecoembes, describes the scheme to PackagingInsights. 

“Reciclos incorporates innovation in the areas of blockchain, artificial intelligence and image recognition.Thanks to this technology, Reciclos can reinforce the link between the public and the containers via their mobile phones, thus turning recycling into a rewarding habit.”Spain is reportedly the second biggest plastic polluter of the Mediterranean Sea after Turkey.

However, Banegas says the Reciclos system will never work in reality. 

“Our investigation shows that Reciclos will never achieve volumes of collection necessary to achieve the Single Use Plastics Directive’s (SUPD) 90 percent separate collection targets.”

Moreover, she mentions widespread limitations on the way the technology is being used, including only three individuals per household being able to register on the app. 

A consumer can return ten containers a week maximum (thus, there is no incentive to return all plastic), and collection machines are located in very few cities across the country, Banegas adds.

Also, citizens under the age of 14 years old are not allowed to use the system.

“Although Ecoembes says that limiting the total number of containers an individual can return disincentivizes buying single-use containers, in reality, it only disincentivizes returning used packaging,” continues Banegas. 

The system also relies on photos submitted without verification and is therefore potentially open to fraud, she says. 

DRS in Europe 
The report comes as DRS schemes are implemented throughout Europe. 

This year, it is expected that Spain will implement the Waste Law and the Royal Containers Decree, policies that will align the country with wider EU legislation.

While DRS is accepted and even promoted by Ecoembes members in other countries, Changing Markets says major companies are attempting to hold it back in Spain. 

“Coca-Cola and other companies only reluctantly started to support DRS in Europe in 2018. But what made these companies focus on this issue is the introduction of the SUPD.”

The SUPD obliges FMCG companies to collect 90 percent of plastic bottles by 2029 and introduce 30 percent recycled content by 2030.Ecoembes says the Reciclos scheme is a protective measure that will help further recycling in the country.

“This is the reason why European Federation of Bottled Waters (EFBW) and UNESDA came out publicly in favor of DRS in September last year.” 

Banegas says Changing Markets does not understand why Coca-Cola, Nestlé and other companies would not support the DRS in Spain “because it seems very difficult for them to reach these targets without DRS.” 

“The Spanish government should see past this smokescreen of greenwashing initiatives and commit to the implementation of a modern DRS in combination with reuse targets.”

Ecoembes counters allegations 
Otero Cavero says the report contains “misleading statements regarding both Ecoembes and Reciclos, its return and reward system for plastic beverage bottles and cans.”

He says the scheme is only in a trial phase, with many of the shortfalls mentioned by Changing Markets already being addressed. He also says there is no limit on the amount of packaging that can be recycled through its collection points. 

The report also details how Ecoembes’ board of directors was paid a total of €2.1 million (US$2.5 million) in 2018.

“Ecoembes is a nonprofit organization that does not distribute benefits among its registered companies,” says Otero Cavero. 

He also asserts that government authorities ultimately hold responsibility for the packaging pollution crisis in the country. 

“It [the government] serves as a public service provider by financing and contributing to the collection and sorting of packaging waste for its recycling. The municipalities bear the operational responsibility for waste management.” 

Coca-Cola weighs in 
Banegas points to rumors outlined in Spanish publication Merca2 that the report may have driven Coca-Cola to reconsider its relationship with Ecoembes. 

PackagingInsights spoke to a Coca-Cola spokesperson, who stated: “Coca-Cola is committed to collecting 100 percent of the packaging we put on the market, and to ensure that our packaging is 100 percent recyclable and that at least 50 percent of the content of our PET bottles come from recycled content.”

PackagingInsights has also contacted Unilever for comment. 

By Louis Gore-Langton