10 Keys of the new Waste Law for waste management and production companies

After more than two years of processing, the Law on Waste and Contaminated Land for a Circular Economy came into force on April 10, 2022. With this new law, which represents the biggest change in waste legislation in recent years, Spanish waste legislation is adapted to EU objectives and moves towards a circular economic model.

The new Law 7/2022 is extremely exhaustive, covering multiple facets of the waste vector. However, in this article we have focused on the aspects that most affect companies producing and managing industrial, hazardous and non-hazardous waste.

Main novelties of law 7/2022 if you are a waste management or production company

These are some of the highlights of the new Waste and Contaminated Land Law:

1. Farewell to Law 22/2011 and RD 833/1988: both regulations are repealed. Special mention to RD 833/1988, the "father" of waste traceability, whose articles were still in force.
2. Extended producer responsibility is reinforced: the waste producer is responsible for the waste until its final treatment. Waste movements between intermediate treatment facilities (recovery operations R12 and R13 and disposal operations D8, D9, D13, D14 and D15) must be evidenced by the identification documents of the shipment and, if applicable, a certification from the treatment plant.
3. Waste storage times: remain the same as before. Thus, in the case of non-hazardous waste, the maximum duration of storage at the production site will be less than two years when destined for recovery and one year when destined for disposal. Hazardous waste may not be stored for more than 6 months, regardless of the treatment.
4. The waste producer will have to submit an annual report: an important novelty that affects the producers of hazardous waste registered in the registers of the Autonomous Communities and the producers of non-hazardous waste of more than 10 tons per year. This obligation, which was already included in some regional regulations such as those of Andalusia and Catalonia, is now extended to the whole of Spain.
5. Classification of construction and demolition waste (CDW) on site: as of July 1, 2022, non-hazardous CDW must be classified into at least the following fractions: wood, mineral fractions (concrete, bricks, tiles, ceramics and stone), metals, glass, plastic and gypsum. Elements that can be reused, such as tiles or sanitary ware, will also be classified separately.
6. Traders must justify the benefits of buying and selling waste: traders must provide documentary evidence of the positive value of the hazardous and non-hazardous waste and must also ensure that a complete and adequate treatment operation is carried out on the waste they purchase. This operation must be reported to the initial producer of the waste by means of a shipment identification document (DI). Thus, intermediate management activities to carry out the waste treatment will not fall under this role.
7. Electronic Waste Information System (e-SIR): the e-SIR platform will be the cornerstone of waste information at the state level. Apart from the waste production and management registry and the shipment repository, new components related to transboundary shipments of waste, sludge, by-products, waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) and contaminated soil are expected to be developed within e-SIR.
8. Landfill and incineration taxes: taxes are levied on the deposit of waste in landfills, incineration and co-incineration. The calculation of the tax applied will vary according to the weight of the waste delivered and the type of treatment facility. These state taxes will be applicable throughout the national territory and managed by the Autonomous Communities. Some of them, in fact, already had their own taxes.
9. Pollution will be twice as expensive: the penalty regime is reinforced, with fines that in some cases double those contained in Law 22/2011, including the cessation of activity. Some infractions previously considered minor are made serious or very serious.
10. Detailed treatment operations: tables D (disposal) and R (recovery) are broken down to make the actual activity to be carried out on the waste more comprehensible.

For companies, professionals and entities involved in the waste value chain (producers, transporters, managers, agents and traders), Law 7/2022 represents an important step forward in the effective implementation of the waste treatment hierarchy that will stimulate the implementation of circular waste and resource chains: it reinforces the control of waste by waste producers (responsibility until final treatment, reporting obligations such as the annual report) and the polluter pays concept.

Free guide: The New Waste Law in Spain: Highlights for waste managers and producers.