• From now on, the Maresme Waste Consortium is restructured and integrated into Maresme Circular with the aim of promoting the circular economy in the region

• Among the initiatives are the creation of a food reuse circuit and a set of Libraries of things in educational centres

The future of the planet depends on consuming fewer natural resources. This is the line of action of the Maresme Waste Consortium, which this Tuesday presented Maresme Circular at a press conference, a brand that aims to promote the circular economy in the region and which brings together all the services and projects of the Consortium.

With the presence of the president of Maresme Circular and mayor of Mataró, David Bote, the director of Maresme Circular, Carles Salesa, and the councillor for the Environment and Climate Change of the Regional Council of El Maresme, Montserrat Garrido, the Maresme Waste Consortium has become an entity that not only manages the waste generated in the region, but also works to influence its prevention.

It is a question of rethinking the current model of production and consumption. In fact, the circular economy consists of understanding waste as new resources and keeping them in operation for longer, so that we can avoid the depletion of raw materials.

Umbrella project

This is how, five years ago, the Maresme Waste Consortium made a change in its strategic plan to incorporate a value proposition that would allow the development and application of the concept of circular economy in the territory. Maresme Circular was born from this strategic change and is positioned as the transforming agent of waste management in the region.

Thus, Maresme Circular is the umbrella project that integrates on the one hand the Maresme Integral Centre for Waste Recovery with which the Consortium will continue to manage the waste of Maresme and Vallès Oriental; but it will also integrate other initiatives, such as the Mataró-Maresme Circular Park, a circuit of reuse of surplus food, and Libraries of things, among others.

Mataró-Maresme Circular Park

One of the flagships of Maresme Circular is the Mataró-Maresme Circular Park. It is a pioneering project in Europe that was created with the aim of promoting the repair and reuse of materials and products to reduce waste generation. The Park’s singularity lies in the fact that it will unify in the same space business initiatives with services for citizens, such as advisory services for self-repair in different areas (computers, electronic devices, furniture, bicycles, etc.), a second-hand shop, community vegetable gardens, and a library of things, among others.

The construction process of the Park has been halted due to the discovery of archaeological remains of the agricultural part of a Roman villa. The necessary interventions are currently being carried out to protect these findings.

Waste Prevention Plan

Within the framework of Maresme Circular, one of the major proposals already underway is the first Maresme Municipal Waste Prevention Plan, which aims to reduce waste generation in the region by 26.4% by 2027, in comparison to 2010. With a series of actions, the aim is to move from an average waste generation of 1.72 kg/inhabitant/day in 2010 to 1.26 kg/inhabitant/day in 2027.

Food reuse circuit

In December, a food reuse circuit will be set up in El Masnou and Vilassar de Mar.

Through the Rezero Foundation and the Resources Bank, a diagnosis will be made of the needs of the municipalities in this area to ensure that surplus food in optimum conditions from different sectors reaches the people who need it most.

Library of things in schools

Another of the actions arising from the Plan is the implementation of Libraries of things in six schools in the Maresme region. This is a Learning and Service project, part of the Maresme Waste Consortium’s Environmental Education programme, which consists of a space for collaborative consumption of objects of sporadic use.

Students will be able to borrow different objects and equipment provided by their fellow pupils, classified into different categories: leisure and adventure (sports, board games, camping equipment, projectors, consoles…), office equipment (laptops, binding machines…) or childcare (pushchairs, car seats…), among others.

The initiative will be launched in January in secondary schools in the region, such as INS Jaume Almera in Vilassar de Dalt, INS Euclídes in Pineda de Mar and INS Lluís Domènech i Montaner in Canet de Mar, which have already confirmed their participation in the project.

Brand design

The La Page Original studio has been commissioned to design the Maresme Circular brand.

The logo proposal is based on the idea of infinite continuity through a graphic symbol reminiscent of a Möbius strip. This figure symbolises the idea that every material has the potential to continue to exist in another form, since matter is not destroyed but transformed.

Moreover, in the same idea of infinity we can see linked concepts such as globality and multidimensionality, and due to the interlocking aspect of the C, we also link the idea of cohesion, technology and innovation.

The president of Maresme Circular and mayor of Mataró, David Bote; the director of Maresme Circular, Carles Salesa, and the councillor for the Environment and Climate Change of the Regional Council of El Maresme, Montserrat Garrido / Marga Cruz