Barcelona Pact Targets E‑Commerce Packaging Waste

The Rezero Foundation has coordinated a new alliance in Catalonia to curb the surge of packaging waste generated by online shopping. The agreement, signed by the Barcelona City Council, the Catalan Consumer Agency, the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona, the Terrassa Chamber of Commerce and logistics and platform companies InPost and Wallapop, aims to eliminate unnecessary packaging and promote reusable solutions.

The pact seeks to redesign the current distribution system by introducing reusable packaging and more efficient delivery routes. In 2025, e‑commerce in Catalonia produced over 300 million packaging items, a figure projected to rise to 440 million by 2030 if unchanged. The alliance estimates that current trends could generate more than 120 000 tonnes of packaging waste annually by 2030. By addressing waste at its source, the partners hope to reduce the volume of cardboard and plastic that now overloads public recycling bins in Barcelona, where cardboard collection weight has risen 27 % over the past decade.