Barcelona’s zero waste strategy
The first zero waste plan for Barcelona was drawn up in 2012, with a number of measures to raise awareness and reduce plastic packaging. Since then, a zero waste strategy for Barcelona was developed for the period 2016–2020, with concrete measures to fight single-use plastics:
- Since March 2019, all municipal facilities have had to avoid single-use plastic bottles, plates, cutlery and cups and replace them with more sustainable alternatives.
- Reusable cups have been introduced for all big events as well as beach bars since 2017, with a EUR 1 deposit system incentive for consumers to return them.
- A system has been set up offering free rental of reusable tableware, cups and plates to municipal services, associations and major events.
- Networks and partnerships have been developed to raise awareness on single-use plastic pollution.
- The City Council launched a campaign called Plàstics for the 2019 edition of the European Week of Waste Reduction. The campaign focused on ten actions to avoid in order to incentivise sustainable behaviour for consumers and businesses.
