Ecoval Sudoe, together with the Conserval Poctep and Cigat Biofactoría projects, also led by Cetaqua Galicia, was the protagonist on June 9 – from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. – of an event within the framework of the EU Green Week under the title: “Zero pollution society: citizens and industry to climb on a circular strategy”.
In the first part of the event the activities carried out by different Galician companies and entities in the field of waste management were presented. After this general introduction of the topic, the projects of Ecoval, Conserval, and Cigat Biofactoria were presented, highlighting the existing links and complementarity between the different initiatives.
The three projects represent a perfect example of a circular economy, converting by-products and wastewater from the canning industry, urban organic waste, and sewage sludge into products with high added value.
- ECOVAL: ECOVAL, the acronym for “Management coordination strategies and recovery of sludge and organic waste in the SUDOE region”, is a transnational cooperation project co-financed under the Interreg Sudoe 2014-2020 program through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The project, with partners from France, Portugal, and Spain, aims to promote the biofactory model to obtain bio-products with high added value from sewage sludge and urban bio-waste, a model replicable throughout the European Union.
- CONSERVAL: CONSERVAL is a collaborative project between Spain and Portugal, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Interreg VA Spain-Portugal Program (POCTEP) 2014-2020, which aims to develop technologies for the recovery of by-products and water residuals from the canning sector in Galicia and the North of Portugal. CONSERVAL aims to transform these solid and liquid streams into higher value-added products with high business potential, such as specific volatile fatty acids, fish oils with a high content of Omega 3, and high-value protein hydrolysates.
- CIGAT BIOFACTORÍA: The CIGAT-BIOFACTORÍA Mixed Unit, born within the framework of Galicia’s Smart Specialization Strategy (RIS3), was created with the aim of expanding the scope of purification processes, exploring solutions for the full use of the materials present in wastewater, as well as associated waste, contributing to a circular economy with zero waste.
European Green Week 2021
The Green Week of the European Union 2021 was celebrated from May 31 to June 4, 2021, with associated events scheduled throughout the European territory between May 3 and June 13.
Pursuing the objective of zero pollution, the event covered topics such as air, water, land, and food. Other relevant initiatives for the European Green Deal were discussed, such as climate one, the future Strategy on Chemical Substances, and initiatives dedicated to energy, industry, mobility, agriculture, fisheries, health, and biodiversity.
To contribute to this debate, the Fundación Empresa Universidad Gallega (FEUGA) added other projects both national and European to participate in the conference. Therefore, the projects IPMWORKS, VINIoT, VITICAST, VARROFORM, ROADMAP, and KETF4-GAS had also a leading role within the conference.
Find in the following document all the information about the different panels that have comprised the event and the speakers who have intervened.
