The challenge that local entities face will involve a paradigm shift and greater public awareness in order to achieve the "demanding but necessary guidelines set out in this new regulation."
Last Wednesday, San Javier became the centre of a debate where the recently approved Law on Waste and Contaminated Soils was explained by experts and representatives of organisations involved in its enforcement.
Mayor José Miguel Luengo hosted “Local Entities and the New Waste Regulations”, a conference organised by the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces, in collaboration with the Murcian Territorial Federation, the FMRM, and Ecoembes.
The approved law aims to intensify the fight against climate change and the protection of the environment and health, making progress in compliance with both the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda, sustainable production and consumption; climate action, and life below water, as well as the milestones set by the European Union in this regard, by transposing Directive 2018/851, of May 30, which modifies the Waste Framework Directive, and Directive 2019/904, of June 5, on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment.
The President of the FMRM, and Mayor of Bullas, María Dolores Muñoz, said during the opening of this conference that “the municipalities have a job ahead of them and a commitment to the Environment, since the change from a linear economy to a circular economy is one of the great challenges that our municipalities face at an economic, administrative and social level”. Muñoz insisted that “it is necessary to rethink our way of producing and consuming, reducing the generation of waste, extending the life of products, reusing them, again and again, while they can be useful and facilitating the use of materials, through the separation of waste for recycling. The municipalities are the key to achieving this transition to a circular economy, and there is a clear commitment from the municipalities to achieve this objective”.
For Carlos Daniel Casares, Secretary General of the FEM, “the Law is accompanied by far-reaching changes that imply a change of model, therefore, for Local Governments it is a new and broader framework of municipal powers and obligations, ranging from new management models, legal and tax innovations, adaptation of ordinances or incorporation of new rates and taxes, as well as a significant economic effort, with an investment of 2.459 million euros until 2035, of which 1.459 million will correspond to the management of municipal waste (1.165 for collection and 397 for treatment)”. To this expense, the Secretary General of the FEMP has pointed out, “we should add an increase in current expenditure that, to meet the recycling objectives, could exceed 400 million euros annually”.
The Secretary of State for the Environment of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Hugo Morán, called for the collaboration of the City Councils to encourage citizens in terms of separation, recycling and waste reduction and, regarding financial support, he recalled that the PRTR has 850 million euros for investments in the circular economy and to address the accumulated deficit in waste management. He also referred to the opening of calls for subsidies by the Autonomous Communities. “We have a new regulatory framework and financing for change.” “We need Local Entities to be ambitious, productive and agile with these changes to break with the status quo of the linear economy. The circular economy is an opportunity that we cannot miss for many reasons. And we must do so out of conviction, responding to a growing demand from citizens who claim their right to environmental health,” Morán concluded.
The development of the Law and its influence on local entities
The Deputy Director General of Circular Economy of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Margarita Ruiz, addressed the most relevant sections of the Waste Law, including its new definitions and powers, the new management models and objectives of waste collection, and the legal and tax developments. She also referred to the NextGeneration Funds that are being allocated to waste management policy, and to the local aspects of the future Royal Decree on packaging that will be approved before the end of the year and that will include the regulatory details of the law.
For his part, Manuel Pato, Secretary General of FMRM, said during the closing of the event that "mayors are proving to be convinced on the issue of the environment and sustainability, and this is demonstrated by the more than 10.900 councillors who have already signed the Pact for Climate and Energy, therefore, I am convinced that the commitment to sustainable cities will continue to grow, also around public-private collaboration to be more effective and more efficient with citizens."
