Why there are two, and neither replaces the other
Law 3/2020 of 11 March, on preventing food loss and waste, is Catalan and has been in force since 14 March 2020. Five years later came Law 1/2025, national, fully applicable from 2 April 2026.
The second does not repeal the first. It expressly acknowledges it: article 6.4.a) says that anyone operating in regions with their own rules requiring a plan must meet the requirements of those regional rules.
Translated: in Catalonia they stack. Where one asks for more, the one asking for more wins.
The prevention plan: this is where they diverge
Both require a written prevention plan. What differs is who has to have one, and the two tests look nothing alike.
The national law excludes by floor area. Its article 6.4.c) exempts hospitality and restaurant activities carried out in premises of 1,300 m2 or less. Thirteen hundred metres of floor area is an enormous venue: in practice the vast majority of bars and restaurants in Spain need no plan under the national law.
The Catalan law does not look at floor area. Its article 5.2 exempts only micro-enterprises, defined in article 4.o as those employing fewer than ten people and not exceeding two million euros in turnover or annual balance sheet.
The two tests have nothing in common, which is why the result surprises people.
BAR · 90 m² · 6 staff National exempt (≤ 1,300 m²) Catalan exempt (micro-enterprise) → No plan needed RESTAURANT · 300 m² · 15 staff · €1.4M National exempt (≤ 1,300 m²) Catalan REQUIRED (10 staff or more) → Plan needed, and only the Catalan law says so GROUP · 4 venues · 1,500 m² combined · 40 staff National REQUIRED (same tax ID, > 1,300 m² combined) Catalan REQUIRED → Plan needed, and it can be a single joint one
The same-tax-ID detail everyone misses
The national law shuts the door on splitting a business to fall under the threshold. Article 6.4.c) ends by saying that regardless of floor area, premises operating under the same tax identification number and exceeding 1,300 m2 between them are covered.
So four venues of four hundred metres each under one tax ID add up to sixteen hundred and are in, even though none of them reaches the threshold alone.
Where the Catalan law asks more of the dining room
Both require you to let customers take home what they did not eat and to say so, preferably on the menu. So far, identical.
The Catalan one adds something the national text does not say in these words. Its article 6.1.c) requires containers that are food-safe, reusable, compostable or easily recyclable, and requires you to accept a container the customer brings themselves.
That last clause is a concrete obligation: if a guest turns up with a tub from home, you cannot say no.
- Taking home uneaten food, at no cost for the proper container. Both.
- Saying so clearly and visibly, preferably on the menu. Both.
- Accepting a container the customer brings. Explicit only in the Catalan law.
- Buffet and unlimited-service exception. Expressly stated in the national one.
The hierarchy: eight rungs instead of three
Article 11 of the Catalan law sets out eight destinations for surplus, first to last: prevention, human consumption, animal feed, material recovery for industrial use, quality compost, biogas, other energy recovery and disposal.
For a restaurant what matters is the top two rungs, and they are the same in both laws: if the surplus is fit for human consumption, you have to try to donate it before it ends up in the bin.
What to do if your venue is covered
If you have ten staff or more in Catalonia you need the plan, even though the national law does not ask you for one. It is not a form filed anywhere: it is a document you have to hold and be able to produce.
- Write down how you match purchasing to expected covers and how you track use-by dates.
- Put in writing who you donate fit surplus to, even if the arrangement is an email.
- Record what you throw away and how often you review it: no measurement, no plan.
- Review your takeaway containers and take them off the bill if you were charging.
- Put the notice on the menu. Cheapest item on the list, and not doing it is an infringement.
Frequently asked questions
If I comply with the national law, am I compliant in Catalonia?
Not necessarily. The Catalan law requires a plan from ten employees upwards without looking at floor area, while the national one exempts venues of 1,300 m² or less. A mid-sized Catalan restaurant can be exempt under one and required under the other.
My bar has six staff. Do I need a prevention plan?
No, provided turnover or annual balance sheet also stays under two million: then you are a micro-enterprise and the Catalan law exempts you expressly in article 5.2. Everything else — taking food home, the notice on the menu, the containers — still applies.
Where do I file the plan?
Nowhere. Neither law creates a register to lodge it with. It is a document you have to hold, be able to produce on request, and actually apply.
Can I refuse if a customer brings their own container?
In Catalonia, no. Article 6.1.c) of Law 3/2020 requires you to accept a container the customer brings. It is one of the sharpest differences from the national rule.
I have four small venues under one tax ID. Do I count each floor area separately?
No, they add up. The national law says that regardless of floor area, premises under the same tax ID exceeding 1,300 m² between them are covered. The Catalan law does not look at floor area at all.
What are the penalties?
The Catalan law grades infringements as serious or minor in article 14, and 15.3 refers the minor ones — the dining-room ones — to Law 22/2010, the Catalan Consumer Code. We do not quote amounts: check them in the text or with your accountant.