Environment

Balearics has best glass recycling rate in the country

Glass bottle recycling is good in the Balearics. | Archive

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterPalma26/02/2020 16:11

Ecovidrio, the not-for-profit organisation which promotes glass recycling, reports that over the past five years there has been a 30% increase in glass bottle recycling in Spain. The most significant increase has been in the Balearics, where 31.6 kilos of glass per inhabitant are now recycled per annum. This is the highest rate, per inhabitant, among the regions of Spain.

Nationwide in 2019, 896,450 tonnes of glass were recycled from the green containers. This was 6.6% more than in 2018. After the Balearics, the Basque Country had the highest volume per inhabitant - 28.4 kilos - followed by La Rioja with 28.2. Regions with the greatest "potential for increase" included Andalusia (14.4 kilos) and Extremadura (8.9 kilos).

At city level, Palma was fifth in the country for the volume of glass recycling per resident in 2019 - 23.7 kilos. The best performance was in San Sebastian, where there were 42 kilos.

There are over 230,000 green containers in Spain, with one for every 204 people. This is one of the best ratios in Europe, with every person in Spain having deposited some 19 kilos of glass in containers over the past five years. The objective for 2025 is to recycle 85% of glass bottles. This would be 15% higher than the European target.