Recuwaste, the leading international conference on the sustainable management of waste and resources, closed its 6th edition with 800 attendees in person and another one hundred virtually, in this its first hybrid format. Leading local and international figures in the field of waste management shared their vision, projects and solutions on the ‘(R)evolution of resources‘ during the two days of the congress.

During the conference, the director of the Maresme Waste Consortium, Carles Salesa, and the Maresme Circular advisor, Miquel Caballé presented the Mataró-Maresme Circular Park to attendees.

A library of things where we can borrow objects such as long ladders or drills that we only use occasionally, a second-hand shop to give another life to those clothes and objects that we no longer use, workshops and talks for citizens, or a space for advice on self-repair of electronic devices and furniture to extend their useful life, are some of the free services that the so-called Remake Area will offer. The project has received a great deal of interest from both local and international attendees.

Ideas to inspire change

Experts such as the ecological economist Giorgos Kallis, the manager of Business Development at Kalundborg Symbiosis (Denmark), Tue Robin Jensen, and the manager of the Rediscovery Centre (Ireland), Steve O’Reilly, presented ideas such as the need to reduce resource consumption in order to make green growth possible.

Other speakers, such as the creative designer Leyla Acaroglu and the president of Circular Sweden and member of the International Resource Panel, Anders Wijkman, concluded their conferences with the famous quote by Albert Einstein: “No problem can be solved by the same consciousness that created it”. Both encouraged the audience to change the way we look at the world and understand waste in order to build a better future.

At the local level, topics as wide-ranging as sustainable mobility technologies in public services, the role of supra-local authorities in reuse and recycling, and the circular solutions of Catalan companies in the textile and plastics sector were discussed. From TecnoCampus Innovation Corner, the director of the Chair of Circular Economy and Sustainability, Sònia Llorens, spoke about innovation for circularity and how when designing a product, it is necessary to study its useful life.

Recuwaste rewards innovation

The conferences and round tables were complemented by the presentation of the finalists in the Alfonso Maíllo prize, which this year was won by Sandra Martínez, an environment and urban services technician from Castelldefels Town hall Council, with her proposal for a new service of mini-clean points in the city, a project that converts the old disused newsagents into small clean points that collect everything from batteries, used oil and light bulbs to small household appliances.

Attendees were also able to see first-hand the latest advances in public service machinery (technologies for selective collection, robotics, containers, routes, etc.) and to visit the Maresme Integral Centre for Waste Recovery.

Recuwaste, which is held every two years, is promoted by the Maresme Waste Consortium, in collaboration with the Catalan Waste Agency and the Barcelona Provincial Council. It also has the support of the Environmental Forum Foundation, which provides the scientific secretariat.

The director of the Maresme Waste Consortium, Carles Salesa, and the Maresme Circular advisor Miquel Caballé. / Marga Cruz