„One of the greatest deficits, that we have in our country, is the lack of culture for the separation and the recycling of residues on a great scale“, said Luís Aníbal Sepúlveda, organizer of the 7th Fair and Seminar on internationally integrated management of solid and toxic waste (VII Feria y Seminario Internacional de Gestión Integral de Residuos Sólidos y Peligrosos Exporesiduos 2015).
The objective of this fair, that starts this wednesday 3rd of june and will end next saturday, is the promotion of environtmental and operational knowledge and its aplication to find a solution for problems of the management of residues.
Therefore the fair will have 67 conferences, 75 information points, visiting of recycling centres, three thematical halls (5th and 6th of June) and 12 workshops, that are focused on resolving problems of the generation of waste.
For Sepúlveda the fair is important because it permits companies and citizens to become aware of advantages of recycling and also of the failures of the national policies and local governments concerning the management.
„The country is in default with the implementation of policies and proyects, that enforce recycling. The enforcement can only be achieved by longterm educational programs and the technical and social logistics, that are needed for the recyclists and companies, to advance more efficiently with their work“ said Sépulveda.
According to him the country generates 27.000 tons of solid waste in the urban areas per day; in total 11 million tons per year. Let alone in the valley de Aburrá 2.200 tons of waste are disposed every day, of which only 12% are being recycled.
The greatest problem of the capital cities of the regions is the fact that the majority of the recycable waste is not being recycled, Sépulveda points out.
Therefore the expositors will discuss topics like the reutilization of waste for the creation of new businesses, the profession of recycling, vermicompost, the production of biogas, the treatment of used oils, the treatment of residues deriving from hospitals and the contruction of land fills.
The treatment of organic waste – said Sepúlveda – causes preoccupation in the environmental sector, because being disposed in giant landfills or waste lands, they produce diseases and greenhous gases and contaminate water sources.
„The landfills, as they are currently operated, destroy, while the reutilization can generate money and innovative ideas. One example for this is the generation of energy with the organic waste.“, said Sepúlveda.
In the future the cities of the country have to reuse 100% of the residues, because it generates business opportunities, work, innovative ideas and the possibility of commercialising and consuming environmental friendly products.
In Antioquia there already exist companies that reuse residues. Some of them are dedicated to the manufacturing of surface coating resins and paint, using icopor, others recycle debris to creat tiles and kitchen equipment or produce furniture from recycled plastic.
„We want to make companies and young entrepreneurs aware of the topic, because our objective is that the evironmental topic transcends and generates intrest in the business and service sector, adds Sepúlveda.
Proplaneta, one of the pioneer companies in the innovation of the recycling techniques of non-organic residues in Antioquia, will be present in the Exporeciclaje 2015.
They will sahre their experiences with the manufacturing of products made from recycled paper fibre, that has a low impact on the environment in the production, use and final disposition.
The company, that was founded two years ago, fabricates plates, cups and other packaging for food. Furthermore they produce flowerpots, bricks, desks and other furniture. All of these products are 100% bio-degradable.
Currently the company has 28 employees and is situated in the municipality La Estrella, they commercialze their produtcs with major companies and realize personal orders.
„Our whole concept of Proplanet is dedicated to the conservation of the evironment. We know, that our products are interesting for companies, that are aware of the necessity of the reduction of the consumption of natural resources.“, said Natalia Uribe Río the owner and founder of Proplanet.
For her, although the environmental friendly packaging is more expensive than the ones usually used on the market, the people and companies are becoming more and more consciouss of the necessity of reusing prime materials for the creation of new products.
She assures that environmental issues are not only a fashion, but necessary for the environment. That is why she thinks that the foundation of companies like Proplanet should be granted with incentives from the administration of the municipalities.
„We reuse materials that would contaminate the environment, if being disposed in land fills. One example is the tetra park, that is a contaminant, but 100% reusable. In our company we give a new purpose to it and we avoid environmental damage.“
For their work, Proplanet won the Sid-Price of the European Union, because besides working in a sustainable manner, they generate a low impact of carbon emissions.
Origen: Residuos se desaprovechan en los barrios de Medellín – Medellín – ELTIEMPO.COM