Urban Planning, Ecological Transition, Urban Services and Housing

The Zero Waste Strategy adopted in 2016 aims to improve the quality of recycled products and, more specifically, of organic matter. This is to be done by reducing the amount of waste produced, reusing products and efficient recycling of waste. And all this in accordance with the motto of the Zero Waste Strategy: the best waste is the one that isn't created in the first place.

With this strategy, Barcelona city is aiming to reach a level of selective collection of close to 60%, in line with the requirements of both the European Union and the Catalonia Waste Management Plan. As at 2020, the city as a whole has a selective waste collection level of around 36%.

For years now, Barcelona’s companies, organisations and associations have been driving a wide range of waste reduction actions, ranging from reducing waste to reusing it in the production cycle or reintroducing it into the natural environment..  According to the study ‘L’Economia Verda i Circular a les polítiques de l’Ajuntament de Barcelona’ [The Green and Circular Economy in the Policies of Barcelona City Council] carried out by Estudi Ramón Folch, a total of €603 million is moved in Barcelona each year as a result of public green and circular economy policies, giving rise to 6,600 jobs.

The waste prevention and zero waste strategy is based on:

• Waste reduction (prevention)
• The reuse of waste (giving it a second life by means of exchange or repair)
• Improving selective collection, especially in terms of organic matter
• Citizen co-responsibility, so that the general public gets involved in the optimal management of waste.

The Climate Emergency Declaration (1 January 2020) reasserts Barcelona city’s commitment to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions through waste management improvement measures:

• reviewing environmental taxation in the field of waste to give discounts for prevention and selective collection
• extending the door-to-door collection service
• establishing the Zero Plastic board with public and private operators for the eradication of single-use plastic in the city.

Quick reference guide: Recycling as a menas to tackle climate emergency (in Catalan).

In 2012, Barcelona City Council approved its Waste Prevention Plan with the aim of fostering the reduction of waste in the city, involving all relevant players (the general public, companies, shops, organisations, associations and government bodies) in order to move forward towards a city that produces less waste, is more efficient in its use of resources and shows a greater internalisation of environmental costs.