Spain is at a crossroads regarding the circular economy. While the European Union promotes this model to create green jobs, reduce dependence on imports and achieve climate neutrality, Our country is still too focused on prohibition and regulation, and too little on innovation. Instead of utilizing waste as resources and creating new markets, Spain is missing a historic opportunity for economic transformation. In such an environment, we are ranked 39th out of 69, according to a report by the IMD Global Competitiveness Centre, Medium in terms of industrial competitiveness On a global scale it prevents tools such as creativity through creative destruction from assuming the importance our economy needs to deliver structural transformation.
This is what he said recently Nobel Prize in Economics, Messrs. Mokyr, Aghion and HoytBy stating that Growth is only achieved through investmentHere we can point to the ongoing European funds that cannot transform the productive fabric, but rather have the ability to innovate. com. ecodesign Continuously transforming our production structures.
European estimates indicate that hundreds of thousands of jobs linked to the circular economy will be created before 2030, many of them with high added value. However, our roundness numbers are still below average: approximately between Between 8% and 9% of the materials used by the Spanish economy come from recycled materials, compared to just over 11% at the European level..
With these wicker, We risk being left behind while Other countries are turning circularity into a driver of innovation and competitiveness.
The prevailing approach of the government was primarily regulatory: the spread of laws and prohibitions and the gradual fragmentation of Spain’s market unity. This regulatory balkanization, combined with the lack of national coordination with Europe, adds complexity and uncertainty to business activity. Instead of having a single market for secondary materials with clear and stable rules, Multiple approaches coexist that discourage scale, increase compliance costs, and slow investment.
Added to regulatory inflation Lack of effective incentives for environmental investment. When other countries fund advanced eco-design, reuse, recycling or recycling projects, In Spain, the tax burden and legal uncertainty outweigh aid.
In this environment, it will be difficult to emerge Interviewer Technology or the original “Silicon Valley” of the circular economy. If we really want to speed it up, We need legal certainty, administrative simplification, single windows, and a fiscal framework Which rewards innovation and industrial expansion. As a result, markets are lost and waste is not seen as resources and competitiveness.
Spain continues to waste the potential to transform waste into high-value raw materials. The internal market for recycled materials is weak: there is a lack of price indicators, long-term contracts, quality standards and public procurement that drives demand for secondary materials.
In critical sectors such as waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), collection targets are not met and flow traceability is lost, with consequent Leakage of valuable metals and components. All of this translates into lost recycling and remanufacturing business, reduced green job creation, and a lack of innovation in processes and business models.
In parallel, A large portion of the business community sees recycling as a tool for competitiveness, cost reduction, and access to new markets.. Therefore, the gap is not in the business vision, but in the general framework that still does not have the necessary density and cohesion.
The difference in approach is clearly visible when compared to countries that benefit from the circular economy. The Netherlands has set ambitious targets and sectoral agendas with public and private sector investment to reduce raw raw materials and accelerate demand for recycled materials. Italy has deployed specific financial instruments for circular projects and incentives for eco-innovation, and France has promoted roadmaps with prevention and reuse measures and new business models.
In all cases there is a common pattern: Long-term strategic vision, administrative simplification, financing of leadership projects and public procurement That creates the market. It is not a question of less regulation, but of better regulation and, above all, combining grassroots, investment and innovation so that goals can be achieved in practice and industry and employment are generated.
Everything, in the scenario of material geopolitics, where Generalization and strategic independence are tools for competitiveness. Europe relies largely on third countries for vital raw materials (such as rare earth elements, lithium, cobalt or nickel) essential for energy and digital transformation. This dependence makes us vulnerable to trade tensions and supply disruptions. The European response includes diversifying assets and, crucially, promoting circularity: Designing durable and repairable products, increasing reuse and, above all, recovering important metals and minerals From the “urban mining” represented by our industrial and electronic waste.
The new European regulation on bio-based raw materials sets, among other things, at least the target of coverage 15% of annual consumption with materials from recycling by 2030. For Spain, this means developing its own capabilities Battery recycling, rare earth recovery, metal refining and traceability Materials through the Digital Product Passport.
In conclusion, the matter is urgent Moving from green discourse to innovative action And environmental design. Spain cannot continue to arrive late. The circular economy is not synonymous with more measures and more sanctionsbut of new high-quality jobs, flexible supply chains and strategic autonomy. To recover lost opportunity, we must move from a punitive economy to an innovation economy, harmonizing regulations to create a single national market for secondary materials, simplifying procedures, aligning taxes and investment with eco-innovation, and mobilizing public procurement that creates demand.
The talent is there The European market is large enough to expand. There is a lack of political determination and national agenda to make recycling a real industrial policy. If we align legislation, incentives and technology, Spain can stop being a dependency and become a reference. The alternative is well known: fragmentation, loss of competitiveness, and dependence on the outside. The window of opportunity is still open, but it is narrowing. It’s time to act.
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