Broadly speaking, socially responsible consumption is where consumers take into account traditional, environmental, social and ethical criteria from the moment they decide to buy a product to its disposal, by engaging in any available recycling options.
According to a report on the recycling of packaging waste published by Eurostat (Recycling rates for packaging waste, 2022) concerning the year 2019, the average recycling rate in the European Union rose to 64.4%; meanwhile, in Spain, this figure rose to 69.6%. In order to increase this rate, Ecoembes, the non-profit organisation responsible for coordinating light household packaging waste recycling in Spain, has launched the RECICLOS initiative.
The initiative consists of a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) that uses mobile technology to encourage responsible environmental consumer behaviour by offering “rewards”. Every time consumers deposit waste packaging in the designated collection container, they register the deposit on the RECICLOS systems. They can then either claim sustainable, eco-friendly prizes beneficial to all or donate the reward to social or environmental projects and initiatives linked to sustainable mobility. The RECICLOS initiative can therefore be considered as an action that encourages socially responsible consumption.
Here, the RECICLOS initiative will be discussed, and the key results achieved since its launch will be explained.
