Spain dedicates 17% of all its organic waste to composting

14 May, 2020

Increasing volumes of organic waste of all types are recycled for compost, an activity that has grown exponentially in recent years and to which Spain dedicates 17% of all its organic waste according to data of the Spanish Composting Network (Red Española de Compostaje, REC), situating Spain among the average for EU countries.

For the Director of Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development of Incatema Consulting & Engineering, Sergio de Román, we ought to enhance the value of sometimes vilified sectors such as agriculture and cattle farming, which are often criticised for their effects on the environment, and which due to the volumes of products mobilised plays a fundamental role in recycling.

“For certain these are small steps that overall bring us closer to the objective of a circular economy in agriculture that allows for sustainable production, lower consumption of resources, and a reduction of the environmental footprint".

"If we speak of the water resources dedicated to agriculture” points out Román, “Spain is one of the top countries in terms of water management and the use of waste water". This management will moreover improve in the light of the new EU-approved legislation that will increase to 6.6 billion cubic metres per year of water reused in 2025 across all of Europe. In other words, the equivalent to avoiding the extraction of 5% from water masses and subterranean reserves (Simona Bonafé. 2019).

Additionally, plastic waste from irrigation lines, greenhouse covers and netting among others, are presently recurrently recycled. At the same time, agriculture benefits from the use of plastic materials that have already been recycled further to a prior use, concludes Román.