The challenge
The Govern d’Andorra drove the drafting of the waste prevention plan to respond to the targets set out in the Circular Economy Law (LEC) and the National Waste Plan — Horizon 2035, which set, among other things, a 15% cut in municipal waste generation by 2030 and 20% by 2035, against a 2010 baseline.
Andorra has a distinctive reality: an equivalent population that includes residents, seasonal workers, cross-border workers, day-trippers and tourists, with the floating population carrying significant weight and strong tourist activity. In 2024 the equivalent population reached 127,712 inhabitants, and 50,324 tonnes of municipal waste were generated.
This complex reality means action has to be taken across the different sectors that generate waste, and on the decisions that shape how resources are consumed, produced, procured, built and managed.
The challenge, then, was building a plan able to move from general objectives to a concrete, cross-cutting, executable prevention policy, involving government, businesses, economic sectors, organisations and citizens.
Project development
The project was structured in four work blocks:
1. Diagnosis and baseline analysis.
Analysis of the regulatory framework, demographic trends and waste generation, the waste composition profile, collection models, source-separation results and prevention measures already under way. The analysis made it possible to identify trends, potential for improvement, and priority areas for action.
2. Defining objectives and the strategic architecture.
Translating the regulatory framework and the diagnosis into quantitative and qualitative objectives, six strategic lines, 15 sub-lines and 12 sectors for action.
3. Building the action plan and implementation system.
Defining 30 concrete actions, each one specifying its objective, the stakeholders involved, the Administration’s role, timing, indicators and the resources needed. The whole set was laid out on a 2026–2032 timeline.
4. Monitoring, communication and impact.
Designing a system of general and action-specific indicators, an annual monitoring report, a communication plan, and analysis of how the measures contribute to reducing the carbon footprint.
Results
The Plan set out a complete structure to guide Andorra’s prevention policy through to 2032:
- 6 strategic lines: reducing single-use plastics; reducing paper and cardboard; preventing food waste; reuse and preparation for reuse; preventing construction waste; and general, cross-cutting actions.
- 15 sub-lines of action, covering taxation, enforcement, regulation, traceability, bulk purchasing, reuse, awareness-raising and other instruments.
- 12 strategic sectors, from citizens and retail through to tourism, construction, schools, public administration and the third sector.
- 30 prevention actions, each developed as an individual factsheet with objectives, stakeholders, timing, budget and indicators.
- A 2026–2032 action plan, with a timeline that makes it possible to prioritise and sequence rollout.
- A system of quantitative and qualitative indicators to measure both the execution of actions and progress against objectives.
- An annual monitoring report to identify progress, difficulties and the need for adjustments.
- A dedicated communication plan to adapt messages to different audiences and turn prevention into a well-known, shared policy.
- Carbon footprint analysis, connecting waste prevention to the system’s climate impact.
- A specific analysis of waste generation at the Soldeu-El Tarter ski resort, included as an annex to look in depth at a sector of particular importance to the country.
- Adjust the installed residual waste capacity and promote prevention and the proper use of the collection schedule.
Conclusions
Andorra’s Waste Prevention Plan transforms waste prevention into a cross-cutting policy with its own framework of objectives, actions, responsibilities and monitoring.
This approach led to addressing prevention through different levers: regulation, taxation, public procurement, inspection, incentives, reuse, support for economic sectors, communication and behavioural change.
The result is a plan that does not simply state what needs to be reduced, but specifies who needs to act, what needs to be addressed, when, which instruments should be used, and how it will be possible to determine whether it is working.
Prevention stops being a statement of intent and becomes an executable, measurable policy.
Lessons learned
- Prevention needs more than one lever. Reducing waste doesn’t depend on individual behaviour alone. The Plan combines regulation, taxation, incentives, infrastructure, sector support, communication and participation to act on the root causes of generation.
- A country’s reality shapes how it should be measured. In a territory where tourism and the floating population carry significant weight, using the equivalent population is essential for correctly interpreting how generation evolves and how prevention targets should be read.
- Economic sectors are part of the prevention policy. Tourism, hospitality, retail, construction, administration and major events all have specific measures, because a large part of prevention is decided before waste ever reaches the management system.
- A plan is only useful if it can be executed. Every action includes owners, timing, indicators and resources. That’s what turns a strategic document into a work programme that can be rolled out, reviewed and adjusted.
- Measuring makes governing possible. The monitoring system combines general Plan-level indicators with action-specific ones and an annual report, making it possible to spot deviations and steer future decisions.
- Prevention is also a climate policy. Connecting the prevention plan to the carbon footprint makes it clear that avoiding a piece of waste doesn’t just mean avoiding its management — it also means acting on the resources, processes and emissions tied to its whole cycle.