ECOVAL consortium meets in Toulouse

 

The National Institute of Applied Sciences of Toulouse (INSA Toulouse) hosted the consortium meeting of the Ecoval Sudoe project in the same French city on Wednesday and Thursday (23 and 24 November, respectively) in order to share and present the progress achieved so far, as well as the next steps to be taken.

 

The kick-off was at nine o’clock in the morning, where CETAQUA made an introduction and presentation of the project, as well as its contribution to it from a biotechnological perspective to valorise organic waste. Subsequently, the rest of the actors (FEUGA, INSA TBI, NEREUS, USC BioGroup, ADTA, FPNCyL and Porto Ambiente) presented their different contributions to Ecoval Sudoe until midday, when there was a break to resume the activity in the afternoon.

 

On Thursday, the consortium visited the Ginestous Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) in Toulouse to observe first-hand how the city’s sewage sludge is currently treated. It also analysed its potential for transformation into a biofactory, as pursued by the Ecoval Sudoe model to promote a more sustainable and circular economy.

 

This consortium meeting is the fifth one held by the project, after the last one organised last June in the city of Porto, hosted by Porto Ambiente. In this type of events, synergies are generated between the different agents and are a key element for the proper functioning of all types of projects, even more so in the case of Ecoval Sudoe due to the multiplicity of actors, interests and challenges faced with the aim of promoting a circular and sustainable business model in a context of green transition.

ECOVAL consortium meets face to face in Porto, a city committed to circularity

The city of Porto hosted, last June, the meeting of participants in the ECOVAL project who, over two days of work, had the opportunity to share experiences, learning, challenges and perspectives for the future.

Over two days filled with presentations and visits to local points of interest such as Água e Energias do Porto, or Lipor, these 20 participants got to know a little more about these institutions and the work developed in this area.

 

 

As host, Porto Ambiente was also able to share the path that has been followed in the area of organic waste and the biggest challenges encountered along the way.
The Organic Project, launched in April 2021, had a strong communication and awareness campaign that allowed a strong adhesion to the initiative.
In little more than a year, this project already involves more than 26,500 families and records impressive numbers in terms of collection: more than 100 tons of waste/month. The weight of this operation is so important that, in the first semester of 2022, there was a growth of over 80% in this type of waste compared to the same period in the previous year.
Numbers that allow a reduction in waste, minimisation of the amounts sent to undifferentiated waste, and that translate into true circularity, with this waste being transformed into high quality organic compost, used in organic farming.

 

 

If these figures leave no room for doubt about the commitment of the people of Porto, they also reflect the success of Porto Ambiente’s strategy, with its focus on organics, a project that is expected to be extended to the entire city by the end of 2023. An ambitious horizon, but in harmony with Porto Ambiente’s commitment to promote the circular economy, essential to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality in the city, in line with the challenges of the Porto Climate Pact, which the municipal company has embraced from the outset.

 

Ecoval Sudoe, a sustainable approach to urban sludge and urban biowaste management

On 8 June, the event “Ecoval Sudoe, a sustainable approach to urban sludge and urban biowaste management“, organised by Porto Ambiente, will bring together the main actors involved in ECOVAL to define a clear and detailed picture of the project. The venue will be the headquarters of Porto Ambiente in Porto.

The Portuguese organising company is responsible for the urban waste management and cleaning services of the Porto city council. In recent years, it has made an effort to improve organic waste collection through innovation by participating in international R&D&I projects. In ECOVAL, they are dedicated to the identification of legal barriers to the recovery of sludge and urban bio-waste and to the proposal of legislative changes for the implementation of the ECOVAL model and its arrival on the market.

 

The programme of the event, which runs from 09:30h to 17:00h, will start with a welcome by Filipe Araújo, the Vice-Mayor of Porto, and an introduction to the project by the coordinator Antón Taboada, from Cetaqua. This will be followed throughout the morning by a series of presentations from each of the partners with a coffee break. After lunch, the invited consortium will visit the LIPOR Compost Plant and the Águas do Porto Wastewater Treatment Plant, learning about their operation first hand. You can consult the full programme here.

Attendance is limited to consortium members and those invited by Porto Ambiente. It will be the first time that the entire ECOVAL project consortium will meet in person, and they will take the opportunity to hold an organisational meeting the day after the event.