Producer responsibility organisation (PRO)

A producer responsibility organisation (PRO), known in Spain as a SCRAP (collective extended producer responsibility scheme), is the body through which several producers jointly meet the obligations imposed on them by extended producer responsibility. Instead of each company managing on its own the waste from the products it places on the market, producers group together in an organisation, usually non-profit, that funds and organises the collection, treatment and recycling of that waste.

It is one of the central tools for shifting to producers the cost of managing the end of life of their products and for driving the circular economy.

Regulatory framework in Spain

In Spain, PROs sit within Law 7/2022 on waste and contaminated soil for a circular economy, which regulates extended producer responsibility in general. For the packaging stream, the specific implementation is Royal Decree 1055/2022 on packaging and packaging waste, in force since late 2022, which extended producers' obligations. Since 1 January 2025, that responsibility also covers commercial and industrial packaging, not only household packaging.

How it works

A PRO operates on several elements:

• Member producers pay a contribution for each product they place on the market, which must be shown separately on the invoice.
• With those funds, the PRO finances and organises separate collection, sorting and treatment of the waste.
• The scheme is accountable to the authorities and must hold the relevant authorisation to operate.

Examples and alternatives

Spain has several PROs depending on the waste type. For packaging, the main ones are Ecoembes, which manages lightweight and paper-and-cardboard packaging, and Ecovidrio, specialised in glass packaging. There are also schemes for other streams, such as medicines or plant protection products.

As an alternative to the collective model, the rules allow individual extended producer responsibility schemes, in which a producer takes on the management of its own products' waste alone. The collective option tends to be the more common one because of the economies of scale it offers. Good management of this waste also supports strategies such as closed-loop recycling.

Manage your obligations with Manglai

Complying with extended producer responsibility requires knowing your waste streams, declaring correctly and documenting everything. At Manglai we help you measure, monitor and report your environmental performance, including waste and packaging management. Discover how Manglai can help you.