A study ensures that Spain is the second country in the European Union in plastic recycling capacity, since in 2021 it processed a total of 1.4 million tons of this material in plants for this purpose, only surpassed by Germany.

This is confirmed by the ‘Sectoral report on plastic in Spain’ promoted by Equiplast, the International Plastic and Rubber Meeting of the Fira de Barcelona, together with Expoquimia, the International Chemistry Meeting, as explained on Tuesday in a statement.

Spain is thus the second country with the most recycled plastic, ahead of the United Kingdom, France and Italy, according to data from the Plastics Recyclers Europe association collected in the report, although behind Germany, with more than 2 million tons.

The study also highlights that the mechanical recycling plants where consumer products are treated reused 1.12 million tons, 79% of all processed material.

The president of Equiplast, Bernd Roegele, has assured that “we cannot imagine a world without plastic, it has no substitute, but we can work to make its use and manufacture more sustainable, give it new life and improve it so that it is more respectful of the environment.” atmosphere”.

The study, which has been drawn up by the consultancy MaketAAD with the collaboration of the Spanish Plastics Center (CEP), also highlights that the Spanish plastics sector, made up of a total of 3,704 companies, is a powerful industry that has been able to recover the pulse productive after the pandemic.

The report promoted by Equiplast confirms that the sector generates a turnover of 27,766 million euros, a figure that represents 2.3% of the national GDP, giving direct employment to 125,208 people throughout Spain.

In terms of geographical distribution, Catalonia is the autonomous community with the largest number of companies (1,070), followed by the Valencian Community (795), Madrid (350), and Andalusia (313). The ‘Sectoral report on plastic in Spain’ shows that the sector has suffered in the 2021-2022 period from higher energy costs, the increase in the price of raw materials and problems in the supply of components.