The countdown to Recuwaste 2021 has already begun. This Wednesday the president of the Maresme Waste Consortium and mayor of Mataró, David Bote, the director of the Catalan Waste Agency, Isaac Peraire, and the director of the Maresme Waste Consortium, Carles Salesa, have held a press conference to present the international benchmark conference in the sustainable management of waste and resources, Recuwaste, which will take place on 26th and 27th October at the TecnoCampus in Mataró.

After the break in 2020 due to the pandemic, during which the Recuwaste Virtual Sessions were held with a 4-hour programme spread over two consecutive days, the 6th edition of Recuwaste is back with a hybrid format (face-to-face and virtual). The aim is for anyone interested, wherever they are, to have access to its content. In fact, the virtual ticket allows you to attend the sessions that will be held in the auditorium live, interact with the speakers and also with all the attendees through an App.

Under the slogan “The (R)evolution of Resources“, the congress, promoted by the Maresme Consortium for Municipal Solid Waste Treatment, in collaboration with the Catalan Waste Agency and the Barcelona Provincial Council, also has the support, among other entities, of the Environmental Forum Foundation, which provides the scientific secretariat.

“Agents against climate change”

“We do not consider ourselves to be waste managers, but rather agents working against climate change and in favour of the environment”, said the President of the Maresme Waste Consortium, David Bote, who pointed out: “As part of this social change to which we contribute from the Maresme Waste Consortium, we are organising Recuwaste, a congress that has become a benchmark in the region and in southern Europe”.

For his part, the director of the Catalan Waste Agency, Isaac Peraire, pointed out that the theme of this year’s congress, ‘The (R)evolution of Resources’ “is totally in line with the policy of the Waste Agency”, since “we are working on the approval of the new law on the prevention and management of waste and the efficient use of resources in Catalonia”. Peraire added that “as is reflected in the Recuwaste programme, it is necessary to continue implementing efficient collection models, either by deploying door-to-door collection or by improving the container system by incorporating smart elements. We must move from anonymity to identifying the user and thus be able to apply fairer payment systems”.

Finally, the director of the Maresme Waste Consortium, Carles Salesa, explained that the congress “combines the strategic aspects of waste management at both international and local level” and said that “this change of paradigm in understanding that waste is a resource is very well reflected in this edition of Recuwaste”. Salesa introduced the congress programme and said that the recent changes in the restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic are having an effect: “we already have 400 people registered in person and a hundred more in the virtual version”.

From theory to practice

High-level experts such as the president of Circular Sweden, member of the International Resource Panel and honorary president of the Club of Rome, Anders Wijkman, as well as Valerio Barberis, member of the EU Urban Agenda Coordinator and advisor for Urbanism, Environment and Circular Economy in Prati (Italy), which brings together more than 2,000 textile companies – making it the reference district at European level, as well as a supplier to the most important brands worldwide – will, among others, be responsible for providing their vision on how changes in production and consumption will transform the waste sector.

The conferences and round tables will be complemented by an exhibition of public service machinery (technologies for selective collection, robotics, containers, routes, etc.) and a guided tour of the Maresme Integral Centre for Waste Recovery. Attendees will also have the opportunity to get to know the Mataró-Maresme Circular Park, aimed at promoting new models of production and consumption in line with the climate goals, the SDGs and circular economy strategies.

The director of the Catalan Waste Agency, Isaac Peraire, the mayor of Mataró, David Bote, and the director of the Maresme Waste Consortium, Carles Salesa during the press conference to present Recuwaste 2021 / Marga Cruz