This Royal Decree applies to single-use wet wipes and single-use plastic balloons placed on the Spanish market, as wel as to the waste generated by the use of those products.

Draft Royal Decree regulating the management of waste from wet wipes and balloons.

The notified measure addresses the risk arising from producers’ failure to sufficiently internalise the environmental, economic and human health impacts associated with waste from single-use wet wipes and single-use balloons containing plastic, which has resulted in high levels of litter and serious disruption to sanitation and wastewater treatment infrastructure.

The available evidence shows that both products are consistently among the most frequent items of marine litter in the European Union and generate significant transboundary impacts. This high presence indicates that current patterns of waste production, consumption and management are insufficient to prevent their release into the environment (1)

In the case of wet wipes, the risk is not limited solely to those containing plastic. Accordingly, the draft legislation goes beyond the provisions of Directive 2019/904 and includes wet wipes made from unmodified natural polymers, where they do not comply with Standard UNE 149002:2022, Acceptance criteria for disposable products via toilet, as these products also fail to disintegrate properly and cause blockages, clogs and overflows. This in turn leads to direct discharge of waste into water bodies, generating very high economic costs for public water management bodies (2;3), borne mainly by local authorities and, ultimately, by the public.

This extension of the scope of application is based on the second paragraph of Final Provision Seven of Law 7/2022 of 8 April on waste and contaminated soil for a circular economy, which authorises extended producer responsibility to apply to other wet wipes not covered by Article 60(1) of the aforementioned law, which refers exclusively to wet wipes containing plastic.

For single-use balloons containing plastic, the risk stems from their widespread use in outdoor activities and their high propensity to become dispersed litter. The impact assessment for Directive (EU) 2019/904 also notes that there are currently no fully viable design alternatives capable of avoiding their environmental impact, which reinforces the need to introduce regulatory incentives addressing producers directly.

In this context, extended producer responsibility (EPR) is an appropriate and effective tool for achieving the public interest objectives pursued, as it allows the environmental and economic costs associated with waste prevention and management—which are not currently reflected in the price of the product—to be passed on to producers. Previous experience of implementing the EPR in Spain with other waste streams demonstrates the effectiveness of this approach.

The measure pursues the public interest objective in a coherent and systematic manner, by fully integrating itself into the framework of European and national waste legislation, applying the ‘polluter pays’ and ‘waste hierarchy’ principles, and implementing Law 7/2022 of 8 April from a circular economy perspective. The draft legislation involves all stakeholders, ensuring a proportionate and consistent approach aimed at effectively reducing the impact of these products.

(1) Impact assessment Part 2/3 -
https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/1502-Reducing-marine-litter-action-on-single-useplastics-and-fishing-gear_es
(2) https://www.eureau.org/documen...
(3) https://www.daquas.es/images/p...
(4) Impact assessment Part 2/3 -
https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/...