Business Director of DISTILLER SA
Smart waste management: industrial symbiosis
Jun 08 / 2018
Sala Polivalent · UAB Research Park
The collaboration between the company Distiller S.A. and the BIO-GLS Technology Center on waste treatment and biogas production.
The volume of waste generated in the world continues to grow. This year it is expected to reach 29.3 thousand million tons, with Asia-Pacific and Europe being the regions mainly responsible for these figures, followed by America and Middle East & African countries (MEA). But on a world-wide level the percentage of waste being dumped still remains close to 60%. Even though it is expected that the world recycling market will increase to about 320 thousand million tons in 2018, the recycling rate grows much more slowly than waste production.
The collection rate for industrial waste is expected to increase from 73.7% in 2017 to 76.8% this year, mainly because of the strict environmental legislation imposed on manufacturers, the growing interest in waste as a strategic resource, and the increased
demand for secondary raw materials. It is also important to note that developed European countries and North-America have made a considerable effort to reduce the amount of waste generated, as well as to improve the selective collection of industrial bio-waste.
It is undeniable that rapid industrialisation leads to an increase in the volume of industrial waste. In a context of unsustainable consumption where resources are being exhausted, it is imperative to advance towards a circular economy, with a decided emphasis on remanufacturing, recyclingand re-use.
Speakers
Albert Puyuelo i Gomez
Albert Bartroli Almera
Researcher at the BIO-GLS Technology Center of the UAB