Customers can take their own container as a container to the supermarket

Catalonia is once again a pioneer in fight for climate change. On the occasion of the European Waste Prevention Weekyes, the director of the Waste Agency of Catalonia (ARC), Isaac Peraire, has announced this Wednesday a new agreement that will allow customers of supermarkets and food chains, bring your own reusable container from home in order to reduce plastic consumption and promote reuse in shops. This agreement, which aims to break with the already habitual way of consuming customers and markets, has been led by the Waste Prevention and Consumption Foundation (Rezero) and it has been possible thanks to the consensus of the Generalitat and the distribution sector. “In Catalonia we are not left behind, we are moving forward with actions to promote reusable packaging in the commercial sphere, and the law on prevention and management of waste and efficient use of resources in Catalonia will be strengthened,” explained Peraire. The agreement will allow, for the first time, that the establishments do not oppose the demands of thousands of customers who for years asked that they be allowed to buy the products without having to take home the happy single-use packaging.

Some of the businesses that have already shown their support for the proposal belong to unions and associations of food merchants. These establishments have agreed to offer the purchase of their products with new systems as now consume in bulk, reusable containers, cloth bags, boxes or lunch boxes, in order to eliminate the use of materials that are harmful to the environment.

Among the first signatories of the agreement are the chains Ametller Origen, La Sirena, Veritas, Condis, Sorli and Grup Llobet, as well as the Gremi de Carnissers i Xarcuters of Barcelona i Província, the Gremi de Peixaters of Catalunya and the Gremi de Carn of Barcelona , which are committed to providing their customers with the possibility of filling products that are shipped in bulk, such as meat, fish, legumes, eggs or juices, into their own containers.

60% reusable packaging in five years

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Furthermore, this new protocol intends that, In 2026, 60% of the packaging offered in food establishments will be reusable. Since, according to the data provided by the Waste Agency of Cataloniaa, in 2019 alone, each citizen produced an average of 527 kilos of waste, of which the 55% of these went to waste containers, which due to the waste treatment and elimination processes, account for 6% of total greenhouse gas emissions in the planet.

“The agreement advances towards a new regulatory framework at the state level,” Peraire stressed since the Ministry of Consumption would be working on a Royal Decree that allows the use of reusable packaging provided by consumers. ARC has awarded financial aid of almost 20.000 euros which has been allocated to the Pact for reuse in Catalan commerce. “The agreement is an example of the importance of working together and decisively so that all sectors have the tools to eradicate the problem of waste,” he says. Rosa Garcia, CEO of Rezero.