12th Urban Intelligence and Sustainability Forum – GreenCities

Thanks to one of our associated partners, Aquona, Ecoval‘s name was present during the 12th Urban Intelligence and Sustainability Forum – GreenCities, on 29 September in Málaga.

This event brought together key opinion leaders in the field of urban management and the mobility of the future in the same space. During two days, the Palacio de Ferias y Congresos de Málaga was packed with ideas and case studies related to sustainability, innovation and circular economy, sharing knowledge, synergies and talent.

Laura de Vega Franco, Director of Sustainable Development at Aquona, participated in the round table organised by the Sustainable Development Department of the Government of Castilla-La Mancha, entitled “The 2030 Agenda from global to local, praxis in Circular Economy, Energy Transition and Digitalisation”. It was here that the ECOVAL project was presented and where it was ensured that “companies, in addition to sustainability, contribute to innovation and digitalisation of the commitment to the circular economy and to the promotion of the 2030 Agenda in the territory”.

29S. International Day of Awareness on Food Loss and Waste Reduction

Just by doing a little five-minute research on food waste, you can realise that the figures are alarming.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), 14% of the food produced is lost between harvest and retail, and 17% of total production is wasted in households, food services and retail trade.

It is clear that a truly sustainable future requires a major reduction in food losses and food waste, but what to do with the leftovers?

Currently, food waste accounts for 38% of total energy use in the global food system. Typically, these wastes are deposited in landfills where they generate greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change.

This is where ECOVAL vision comes in. We are committed to a resilient future, in which good organic waste management allows the implementation of a circular consumption model, transforming organic waste into volatile fatty acids and fertilisers. In this way, the energy used to generate the discarded food goes on to favour the growth of others.

If you are interested in being part of this change, do not hesitate to follow us. In addition, you can see all the activities taking place as part of the global virtual event of the International Day of Awareness on Food Loss and Waste Reduction on the FAO website. You will be able to get in-depth information and insights from experts on this issue.

Many of us have already joined the change, take action.

ECOVAL joined CEMOWAS2 final webinar

On the occasion of CEMOWAS2 project’s final webinar, ECOVAL participated in a round table on the circular economy, recovery of organic waste and reuse of wastewater. On days 21st and 22nd of September, experts of this field shared actions taken, results obtained and knowledge acquired, as well as discuss new initiatives which are being carried out within the framework of the Interreg Sudoe Program.

On the first day of the webinar, from 10 am to 13 pm (CET), the partners of CEMOWAS2 presented their main results and their new platform to help decisions.

On the second day, at the same time, there were two round tables shared by research experts from Cerema (France), the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (Spain), and the Agência Portuguesa do Ambiente (Portugal), as well as participants of ongoing Interreg Sudoe programs, such as ECOVAL. The project coordinator, Antón Taboada, Cetaqua, representing the consortium, was in charge of presenting ECOVAL, explaining how the project was born and the different activities that have been carried out since its beginning, in November 2020.

A simultaneous interpretation in French, Spanish and Portuguese was available during the two days.

The main conclusion reached was that “we all have to be involved”. Regarding waste management, it is essential to raise awareness and sensitize people, because without their participation it is impossible to have an effective waste management. In fact, this is the current challenge, it is necessary to adopt strategies to raise awareness and involve citizens in this issue, because there are objectives and goals to achieve that without their involvement are impossible to achieve. We all have an important role in waste management!

Biogroup and INSA Toulouse meet to plan joint tasks of ECOVAL

Within the framework of ECOVAL Sudoe, a meeting to discuss the impact and replicability of the project was held at the National Institute of Applied Sciences of Toulouse (Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Toulouse) between the 13th and the 16th of July. Almudena Hospido, in representation of BioGroup (CRETUS) met with peers Mathilde Besson and Etienne Paul, on behalf of INSA Toulouse and the Toulouse Biotechnology Institute.

The main object of discussion was the work planning for joint tasks of the ECOVAL project and the activities related to the comprehensive urban organic waste management model and measurement of its social and legal impact; and the replicability and transfer of the business model and its environmental and economic assessment.

The city model of Toulouse, where the meeting was held, was also a case of study for the attendees because of its implementation of the bio-waste collection since 2019. Chloé Maisanno, head of the “Observatoire Régional des Déchets et de l’Economie Circulaire en Occitanie – ORDECO” (Regional Observatory of Waste and Circular Economy in Occitania) showed her interest in the development of the project and participated at the last session on Friday morning.

The participants concluded that the meetings were a success in achieving their objectives and took the opportunity to exchange results and approaches taken in each of the laboratories. A follow-up reunion will take place in October.

Ecoval: participant of the European Green Week 2021

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.