With the full implementation of Royal Decree 1055/2022 on packaging and packaging waste, attention tends to focus on producers. However, there is another critical player facing a significant administrative burden: the final waste holder.

Industrial, commercial and distribution companies that unpack goods at their facilities not only have to physically manage tonnes of pallets, stretch film, cardboard boxes and drums, but are now also required to accurately report what happens to these materials to the public authorities or, where applicable, to the different Producer Responsibility Organisations (PROs) for packaging.

To address this bottleneck and provide direct value to companies that hold and manage waste, recircular is launching its new native feature: the Packaging EPR Data Management Module. From now on, companies using the platform to give commercial and industrial packaging waste a second life can fully automate the collection of the data and documentation required by public authorities and PROs.

“As a packaging waste holder, your priority is operational efficiency and seamless compliance. This new tool turns the recording of your material flows into an immediate digital report of regulated data and documentation, eliminating hours spent filling in templates for third parties.”

Under Spain's new regulatory framework, the final holder of commercial and industrial packaging waste has a legal obligation to correctly separate materials at source (plastics, wood, paper and cardboard, metals) and ensure that they are delivered to authorised waste managers.

The regulations also require companies to report on the traceability and management of their waste to the public authorities. Where waste is subject to Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), such as packaging, WEEE, batteries and accumulators, reporting can also be carried out through the relevant PROs.

This means that a company with multiple plants or logistics centres may have to report packaging data in different formats depending on the packaging PRO involved, such as Envalora, Cartón Circular, Ecoembes or Recyclia.

Managing this manually through scattered Excel spreadsheets not only increases the risk of weighing errors, but also consumes valuable time from environmental, procurement, finance and operations teams.

What are the benefits of automating waste data reporting to packaging PROs?

The key benefit is centralising waste traceability from the moment the material is sold or collected.

By using recircular's SaaS software, the final waste holder creates a unified digital record that supports regulatory compliance during inspections, automates waste management documentation and streamlines communication with packaging PROs in Spain in just a few clicks.

What does this new module offer packaging waste holders?

  • Keep your current waste managers or switch them: You can tell us which waste manager handles each waste stream or select other waste managers from among our platform users. We support you whether you want to maintain your existing processes or identify alternatives offering better services or financial terms.
  • Automatic waste management documentation: Whenever you sell or manage batches of industrial plastic, boxes, pallets or big bags through recircular, the system automatically generates a traceable digital record and the required waste management documentation, such as identification documents and treatment contracts.
  • Multi-PRO compatible formats: Forget about manually adapting your waste data for each organisation. We do it for you.
  • Full traceability and inspection readiness: Ensure compliance with your waste management and traceability obligations under Royal Decree 1055/2022. The platform stores the complete history of weights, waste types and logistics flows.
  • Economic and environmental benefits in one place: While recircular's marketplace helps you monetise waste and surplus materials, it also calculates the environmental and social benefits generated by recovery operations through its Impact Measurement Methodology.

Impact Comparison: The Day-to-Day Life of the End User

Digitalisation and the circular economy: putting data to work for waste holders

With this update, recircular takes a strategic step towards supporting the companies that underpin waste management across Spain's business ecosystem.

Making life easier for final packaging waste holders through advanced analytics and Artificial Intelligence not only simplifies their administrative obligations, but also improves the profitability of the circular economy, demonstrating that environmental sustainability can go hand in hand with operational efficiency and regulatory peace of mind.