The Spanish Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) industry, represented by ANAPE (Asociación Nacional del Poliestireno Expandido) and a member of EUMEPS, is actively pursuing a more sustainable and circular future. In a recent article published by ANAPE, Director Raquel López de la Banda outlines how the sector is navigating evolving environmental legislation and embracing voluntary sustainability commitments. As the industry faces implementation challenges from national laws such as Law 7/2022 and Royal Decree 1055/2023, SMEs in particular are making considerable efforts to adapt and comply. From advancing recycling infrastructure to participating in European initiatives like Operation Clean Sweep, ANAPE’s members are contributing to a more resource-efficient and climate-neutral economy.
Sustainability Objectives of the EPS Industry
Currently, both complying with mandatory legislation and incorporating a voluntary sustainability philosophy represent an extremely difficult challenge for all companies in general, and for SMEs in particular. The expanded polystyrene (EPS) manufacturing industry is working in various areas of this discipline, both at national and European levels, as explained by Raquel López de la Banda, director of ANAPE.
The plastic tax and the extended producer responsibility for packaging, reflected in Law 7/2022 and Royal Decree 1055/2023 respectively, are encountering many implementation difficulties. These regulations have marked a turning point in the daily operations of businesses. How are ANAPE's members adapting to this legislative pressure?
Over the past two years, rapid evolution has been necessary. All bureaucracy is always more complicated for SMEs due to their lack of material and human resources. Meetings with the administration, external consultants, and numerous training courses have been required.
Initially, regarding the tax, it took a great deal of time due to its technical complexities to modify the companies’ management systems (ERP), in addition to coordinating with customers or suppliers regarding who is responsible for the declaration. At present, the process is underway to adapt invoices so that they reflect the contribution to the Collective Extended Producer Responsibility Scheme (SCRAP), to comply with the obligations concerning packaging waste placed on the market alongside the goods sold.
From the association, we have supported the creation of ENVALORA, and now our members benefit from its advice and services. This new system for commercial and industrial waste already has full and unconditional authorisation and serves more than 1,800 affiliated companies, including those in the EPS sector.
Regarding the recycling of their product waste, what challenges does the industry currently face?
Our members are highly committed to waste management and recycling. For more than 20 years, the EPS industry, through ANAPE, has been the main driving force behind the project that led to the creation of the EcoEPS Centres — expanded polystyrene recyclers originating from processing companies.
These centres select the highest quality waste, shred it, and use it to manufacture new EPS parts. In this way, packaging or construction applications containing recycled material are produced. The remaining waste that cannot be reincorporated into production is compacted into briquettes and recycled into new insulation for construction, in this case extruded polystyrene (XPS).
The main challenges for EPS recycling in Spain, in terms of collection, are twofold: In domestic consumption, consumers still do not sufficiently recognise the material as appropriate for the yellow bin; and small businesses (especially fishmongers or municipal markets) do not properly separate and manage small quantities. EPS applications tend to be monomaterial, and therefore very easy to recycle if separated at source. We hope this will begin to change now with the new regulation.
What is ANAPE proposing to overcome these challenges?
The association is clear that the solution involves concentrating waste more effectively so that recycling becomes profitable. For this reason, the EcoEPS Centres work with reverse logistics and collect waste from their clients, thereby contributing daily to increasing the recycling rate.
Moreover, recyclers are available to the new SCRAPs to improve the separation and recycling of EPS products and packaging. We hope this new system will extend to more locations and lead to better waste management.
Work is also underway to incorporate recycled content into EPS raw material, but this requires a more complex process (either dissolution-based or chemical), which cannot be carried out by converters on their premises. These processes are conducted by manufacturers at their factories in other countries.
What other sustainable initiatives or projects are currently underway?
Another major sustainability initiative in the sector is the participation of members in the Operation Clean Sweep (OCS) initiative. We take part in this project through ANAIP, the Spanish Association of Plastic Industrialists. It is a voluntary initiative for responsible management, aiming to ensure that good cleaning and control practices are applied in all operations involving plastic pellets, in order to prevent their release into the environment.
Our goal is to anticipate forthcoming European legislation and ensure our members meet its requirements before they become mandatory. It is about providing them with all the means at their disposal to prevent pellet loss during their activities.
To demonstrate the recyclability and use of recycled EPS, our industry has also committed to declaring the use of recycled material on the Recotrace platform. This platform is one of those validated by the European Union to monitor the commitments made by the plastics industry in general and EPS in particular in their respective voluntary pledges in response to the European plastics strategy.
With all these projects and initiatives, can we say that the EPS industry is ready to meet its obligations in 2025?
The shift towards a circular economy requires time and effort. Companies not only have to adapt their way of producing and marketing, but also need to demonstrate it through audits and third-party reports, both to different public administrations and their clients. It is an especially difficult transition for SMEs, which, due to their administrative difficulties, often cannot benefit from the grants provided by various support programmes.
Nevertheless, the sector is working collectively, with voluntary objectives that anticipate changes, and by relying on larger associations, in an effort to ensure that no company is left behind.
To learn more in detail about all these initiatives, we invite you to visit our website: Sustainability in the sector – ANAPE – Expanded Polystyrene.
Despite the complexity of regulatory changes and the limited resources of SMEs, the EPS industry in Spain continues to demonstrate strong commitment to sustainable practices. Through collaboration, technological adaptation, and proactive engagement in voluntary programmes, ANAPE is helping its members transition towards a circular economy. These ongoing efforts reflect the sector’s determination to meet both legislative and environmental objectives by 2025 and beyond.