A sector meeting organized by Repacar, the association that represents the vast majority of paperboard recovery and recycling companies in Spain, has brought the sector together at the headquarters of the Confederation of Businessmen of Galicia (CEG) to highlight the strategic role of the sector in sustainability, employment and the circular economy. Galicia has a great representation for the activity of the association, since it has 17 treatment plants of its associated companies.
In addition to representatives of Galician companies, this conference was attended by the general director of Environmental Quality and Sustainability of the Xunta de Galicia, María José Echevarría, and the assistant general secretary of the Business Confederation of Galicia (CEG), José Manuel Maceira.
The President of Repacar, Manuel Fernández, highlighted how the sector has known how to adapt, evolve and continue providing an essential service even in the most difficult times and in the current scenario of constant regulatory changes.
Pilar Arrayás, director of the Circular Cardboard SCRAP, promoted by Repacar and the main associations of the paper and cardboard value chain, defended the good functioning of the system and the interest in maintaining a model that is achieving high recovery rates, a high quality of the material to recycle and the satisfaction of industries with a simple model that guarantees regulatory compliance.
A round table opened the debate on the opportunities and threats for the sector in Galicia, especially on the adaptation of Galician companies. Pedro Otero, from the company UTRAMIC, Hugo Vila from Reciclajes AVI, Pedro de Santiago from Recuperaciones ECOLEX and Isabel González from the General Directorate of Environmental Quality and Sustainability participated in it, moderated by Arancha Mañas, President of APROEMA. The participants pointed out the situation of constant evolutionary change in the regulatory context, such as the entry into force of Royal Decree 1055/2022, as the main current challenge for companies in the sector. To overcome this, the sector has shown itself to be convinced of the need for collaboration among all the actors involved together with the Administration.
At the close of the meeting, María José Echevarría, general director of Environmental Quality and Sustainability of the Xunta de Galicia, expressed her recognition of the collection and recovery rates achieved by the sector and announced that the Xunta is working on the creation of the Circular Economy office to promote collaboration with companies.
The 113 companies associated with Repacar invoice more than 3,500 million euros, generate more than 6,900 direct jobs and have 215 treatment plants that reintroduce 4.3 million tons of paper and cardboard waste as raw material in the production process.
Photo: Repacar
RELATED NEWS
