Retrospective on Yelena Pelimskaya,“Gone to Waste: The Quality of Hazardous Waste Management in Spain” from Modern Spain Emerges Perspectives on Business and Economics, Volume 23 2005 Yelena Pelimskaya '05 is now Manager Due Diligence at Cerity Partners. Has the National Plan for Waste been improved since its implementation in 2005? In 2005, the National Plan for Waste of Spain no longer seems to exist. However, a new plan has since been created in its place, as well as multiple other policies regarding related areas. In 2014, the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge created a new program known as the State Waste Prevention Program intended to last through 2020. According to the Ministry, “Prevention in the generation of waste is the commitment of the waste policy that provides the most environmental benefits, which is why it occupies the first position in the hierarchy of waste and is key both in the roadmap to advance towards an Efficient Europe in the use of the resources of the 2020 Strategy of the European Union, as in the Waste Framework Directive” (METDC). As in 2005, waste management is still viewed as the country’s top priority environmental changes. This program also works together with the EU’s Circular Economy Action Plan towards sustainable growth. By working in tandem with the CEAP to target product life cycle, Spain’s SWPP can continue to reduce waste into the future. Has Spain taken any other steps to advance its sustainability as a country? Along with the State Waste Prevention Program, Spain has implemented regulations, legislation, and other methods of improving sustainability. In March of 2022, Spain’s parliament passed a Law on Waste and Contaminated Soil. This law is intended to ban certain chemicals in product packaging in order to prevent soil contamination with plastics and nonbiodegradable elements (Parkinson, 2022). In order to reach the goal of 50% reduction of single-use plastics by 2026, this law also supports reducing waste through the sale of bulk products, reusable containers and packages (Parkinson, 2022). Another change Spain has made towards better sustainability is the redirection of land use. By leaving forests untouched and implementing forest fire prevention policies and ecosystem recoveries, Spain has managed to turn their tree-heavy land into an effective carbon sink. “Between 2005 and 2019, Spain reduced its emissions by almost 27%, well above the EU-wide achievement of a 19% reduction” (Simões & Victoria, 2021) and have since set a goal to reach climate-neutrality by 2050. References European Commission (n.d.). Circular economy action plan.environment.ec.europa.eu/strategy/ circular-economy-action-plan. Ministry for the Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge (n.d.). Plans and Programs. www.miteco.gob.es/es/calidad-y-evaluacionambiental/planes-y-estrategias/Planes-yProgramas. Parkinson, Lindsey (2022). Spain passes comprehensive waste reduction regulation, eases the way for reuse. Food Packaging Forum. www.foodpackagingforum.org/news/. Simões, Henrique Morgado & Victoria, Gema Andreo (2021). EU Progress on climate action— How are the member States doing?. Climate Action Research and Tracking Service. Retrospective by Sidney Jankanish ’23, Political Science and International Relations Martindale Retrospectives 2 June 2023
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