Follow us on social networks:César Fernández de Landa, Councilor for Planning and Environmental Management.AssignedWhat does the Circular Economy Strategy of the Vitoria-Gasteiz City Council consist of?The transition to a circular model requires a change in business, individual and territorial vision because it affects the entire value chain.In the City Council we coordinate various departments in this mission.Behind the circularity project there is an important background technical work and a comprehensive transformation process in the way of thinking and planning the management of the services we offer and the impact of our consumption habits, the energy we use, how we design our streets and homes... Specifically in waste management, in addition to continuous improvement in selective collection services, the department has chosen to broaden the focus of our collection and management services.The objective is to tend to other models of consumption and generation of waste, prior to collection and management actions, and also to favor the closure of cycles in the waste generated in the municipality.This is to promote another model that is less demanding of materials and, as such, with less waste generation and conveys to the public the importance of correctly treating the different fractions of the waste they generate in their homes to ensure another life for them.What does the 2030 Strategy and the Local Action Plan for the Promotion of the Circular Economy in Vitoria-Gasteiz mean?The prevention and reduction of waste production, as well as its proper management, are priority actions to achieve sustainable development.Until not many years ago, the main criterion in waste management was the protection of public health, which over time has been made compatible with less environmental impact, linked to aspects such as the reduction of pollutant emissions or the reduction of energy consumption, water, etc.But advanced waste management must be based on the principles of sustainability and viability, in addition to the strictly environmental ones.It is about being more efficient and limiting the environmental impacts that occur throughout the entire life cycle of a product.The new Vitoria-Gasteiz 2030 strategy integrates all the sectoral strategies of our city, including waste management, creating a common vision that will allow us to move towards a future where the Sustainable Development Goals are a common element that guides all actions.In terms of waste, two key concepts have always been reduction and recycling.Now another one is added as the reuse of materials.The vast majority of those we generate in our homes can and should have a second life.If we separate them well and deposit them in the appropriate containers, we support a model that leads to reaching a very ambitious final challenge: the total circularity of waste, a concept inherent to a circular economy, of which all citizens and social agents and economic we are part.Vitoria-Gasteiz has an urban waste collection system based on container collection.This is completed with the pneumatic collection system distributed throughout the different neighborhoods of the city, which forms a much cleaner absolutely mechanized global system.Flexible programs such as the door-to-door collection of paper and cardboard from shops or glass from hotels, the containerized collection system in the pedestrian center called seen and not seen, specialization in the management of bulky items, or the removal of batteries, clothes or selective organic fraction, make up a pioneering and advanced global system.We are improving these selective collection services with a plus in the cases of bulky or textile toys and footwear: their classification and repair for return to the market and, ultimately, for reuse.A key aspect linked to the above is to generate a habit of consuming recycled or reusable materials. How can consumer trends be changed?It is through awareness and sensitization that we can best reach citizens to encourage them to improve their waste management habits, a fundamental element to continue building a more sustainable city that affects aspects as important as adaptation to climate change. , the environmental improvement of our surroundings or the cleaning of our streets.Information is key.That is the philosophy, for example, of the Konpondu project, which was born in a context marked by a planetary crisis in raw materials, and which has an ambitious challenge: that consumers move away from a consumption model based on using and throwing away, reject products that are not designed to last or to be repaired and bet on extending their useful life by turning to the repair professionals in Vitoria-Gasteiz.The city has recently received awards such as the Platinum Broom in recognition of its good work in the field of cleanliness and circularity, what does this type of recognition mean?–Our city has been, is and will continue to be a benchmark in good practices that contribute to improving our quality and as a green and sustainable model.Cleaning and waste management are part of these recognitions, of which the citizens of Gasteiz are undoubtedly complicit due to their increasing involvement and awareness for a better city.Being a benchmark at the state level makes us more demanding and not lower our guard.Enjoy all the news© Ediciones Izoria 2004, SL All rights reserved