Spain is among the countries failing to meet the European Union’s waste recycling standards. In 2025, the gap between the required and actual rates of waste processing and recycling remains significant. The problem is especially acute in cities, where outdated methods of collection and sorting are no longer effective. In response, a major reform is being launched in Barcelona and the surrounding areas, set to unfold over the next ten years.
Authorities in the Barcelona metropolitan area (Área Metropolitana de Barcelona, AMB) plan to invest more than 670 million euros in a complete overhaul of the waste management system. The main goal is to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills and boost the recycling rate to meet European standards. Achieving this will require not only upgrading infrastructure but also changing residents’ habits.
New waste collection rules
The first step will be replacing the familiar open street containers. They will be substituted with modern systems featuring user identification: smart bins and door-to-door waste collection. This approach will make it possible to track who is sorting waste and how, which is expected to improve the quality of separate collection. Currently, the region’s selective collection rate is below 40%, but under the new plan it should rise to at least 65%.
At the same time, construction will begin on ten new specialized plants. These will include material recovery centers, featuring workshops for repairs and stores selling refurbished items. There will also be sites for processing surplus food to ensure it is reused rather than ending up in the trash. Another innovation will be packaging washing stations, allowing packaging to be reused and reducing single-use plastics.
Focus on organic waste
Special attention will be given to organic waste. Currently, it is collected in separate brown containers and then processed into compost and biogas at two plants and in eco-parks. In the future, these facilities will be upgraded into modern complexes capable of handling 150,000 tons more organic material than they do now. Biogas will be converted into biomethane—an eco-friendly fuel that can replace traditional natural gas.
Plans call for the construction of two additional stations in the Besòs and Llobregat districts. These will handle the preliminary processing of organics to improve the efficiency of further recycling. This approach will not only reduce landfill use but also produce more valuable products for agriculture and energy.
Tackling non-recyclable waste
The issue is not just how much waste is collected, but also its quality. Organic matter that ends up in regular gray containers is no longer suitable for composting and requires more expensive processing—almost twice as costly as properly sorted waste. To reduce the amount of non-recyclable waste, two new post-processing stations will be introduced.
One of them will sort textiles, sanitary materials, and low-density polyethylene—these fractions currently make up half of all waste sent to landfill. The second station will recover inert materials: soil, construction debris, and slag, to be reused in construction. The goal is for less than 16% of all waste to end up at final disposal sites, with no more than 10% going to landfills.
Legislative changes
In the coming years, new laws regulating the handling of textiles and bulky waste will be introduced in Catalonia. Companies that produce such products will be required to cover the cost of their recycling, as is already the case with packaging, electronics, and batteries. Another innovation is the introduction of a deposit return system for packaging (SDDR), which is planned to roll out within two years. This will allow more glass, plastic, and metal to be returned to circulation, thereby reducing the volume of waste.
The authorities are focusing on prevention: the less waste is produced, the easier it is to recycle. The region already has a network of Millor Que Nou centers (“Better Than New”) where residents can have broken items repaired for free. Libraries, cultural centers, and other municipal institutions are joining the project to engage as many people as possible in the movement for conscious consumption.
