FCC Medio Ambiente (the Spanish brand for FCC Environment) has taken part in a municipal waste value recovery session in Reus (Tarragona). Íñigo Galiana, Guipúzcoa Branch Office Head of Operations attended on behalf of the company and shared with the attendees his more than 25 years of experience in waste management.

The session focused on the management model of selective collection in the capital of Guipuzcoa and in Sasieta association, which is composed of 22 municipalities. In some populations of this small association, they exceed 75% of selective collection rate and in San Sebastian last year it was 39%. The regulations state that it should be 60% in 2020.

Iñigo Galiana gave as an example the implantation in the city of Donostia/San Sebastián of "smart" bins with an opening and control system with an individualized card and the application of sensors that allow selective collection to be improved.
This management at the individual user level enables the application of the bonus that residents of San Sebastian receive in the trash rate for good practice in waste recycling.

The current system, which began to be developed voluntarily in 2011, has been deployed in several phases and through strong efforts to create awareness and political consensus.

During the conference, it was pointed out that it is necessary to educate and sensitize the citizen, who commits himself voluntarily. Sustainability, recovery and the circular economy are all focused on considering waste as a resource, and thus promoting the reuse of materials and energy savings. The aim is to make the population understand that waste should not be simply eliminated, but that treated waste can be reused and converted into raw material.

Galiana pointed out that it should be emphasized that everything that implies an improvement for the environment is an investment and not an expense.