Recycling of large volume

2007/07/01 Etxebeste Aduriz, Egoitz - Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Ingurumena
• Birziklatzea

(Photo: From archive)

II Urban Waste Management in Bizkaia. The main objective of the Integral Plan for the years 2005-2016 is to make the most of the material and energy value of Bizkaia's urban waste to avoid dumping (dumping 0). The Plan has begun successfully and the objectives set by the European Landfill Directive for 2009 have already been exceeded.

The effort of citizenship has allowed to increase selective collection and recycling - in 2006 33.23% was recycled and another third was incinerated. The change is evident: 68.8% of the total garbage produced in Bizkaia in 2003 ended up in landfills, compared to 34.4% in 2006.

In order to achieve the objectives set for 2016, the Bizkaia Provincial Council is carrying out other initiatives. One of them is the company Berziklatu, dedicated to the management of voluminous waste.

The public company Garbiker of the Provincial Council of Bizkaia and the cooperative societies Emmaus Bilbao and Rezikleta have created Berziklatu, the first joint society of European scope between the public sector and the tertiary sector, formed by non-profit organizations.

The objective of the project is twofold: on the one hand, to manage, classify, reuse, recycle and value the voluminous waste produced in Bizkaia, and on the other, to integrate labor and socially people in situations or risk of discrimination.

All material is classified for further treatment.

Recycling Recycling

To this end, they have invested almost five million euros in the new centre. It is a pavilion of 3,600 m 2 that takes advantage of solar energy. In this pavilion are several waste sorting and processing equipment: an automated crusher, a magnetic separator, three loading tapes, a polyvalent backhoe, a compactor, etc. In addition, it has an area of repair of electrical and electronic devices and a line of valorization.

The centre is located in the municipality of Ortuella, in the area of the metropolitan Bilbao - the most populated region of the territory- and close to other waste management infrastructures -- Orconera Reservoir and BTB, waste treatment plant for construction and demolition of Bizkaia. This will allow you to take advantage of some facilities and services.

It was launched last April 16 and for the moment there are 13 people working. However, they foresee employment for 30 people, of which 20 will be persons in situations of discrimination or risk of access.

Classification and treatment

The voluminous waste collected can be both those collected at home and those from garbigunes. This material is classified first, distinguishing between reusable and non-reusable. The reusables go to the repair shop where they are conditioned for repair, cleaning and resale for later sale as second-hand objects.

It is conditioned to repair and sell reusable material.

Recycling Recycling

On the contrary, non-reusable waste is classified and passed to the machaqueo area. But depending on the type of residue they receive some type of treatment. On the one hand there are appliances that can be white line (fridges, washing machines, etc.) o brown and grey line (television, video...). White line appliances without CFC are cleaned and removed before crushing, while appliances with CFC are stored for subsequent shipment to the treatment plant. And the same with appliances of brown and gray line for later treatment.

On the other hand, there are wooden furniture. In this case, it differs between clean and dirty wood, with paints and varnishes. The clean is cut to send it to a chipboard factory. The dirt, on the other hand, is broken and sent to the stationery to be used in obtaining energy. Finally, the rest of residues (mattresses, sofas...) are used for crushing and energy valorization.

Berziklatu, in addition to contributing to compliance with European and national legislation, will contribute to improving environmental quality avoiding the disposal of dangerous substances. In addition, it will promote the reuse of bulky waste, which will indirectly result in a reduction in the consumption of raw materials and fuels in the manufacture of new products. In addition, together with environmental objectives, it includes social and economic objectives, making it a good example of sustainable action.