The Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment (MAGRAMA) joins the celebration today of World Recycling Day by supporting entrepreneurial initiatives linked to waste management, a sector that generates 27% of total green employment in Spain.

The Biodiversity Foundation’s empleaverde programme allocates 500,000 euros to entrepreneurial initiatives that contribute to the creation of green companies and generate jobs linked to waste management.

Among these initiatives, the eco-design of products, which takes into account the subsequent management of waste, is presented as a booming sector. This is the case of the project promoted by the Centre de Desenvolupament Rural Integrat de Catalunya-Cedricat, which promotes the creation of employment and green companies around eco-design for recycling.

In the waste treatment and recovery sector, the Gremi de la Recuperació de Catalunya is developing an initiative aimed at assessing the potential for job creation in the recycling sector by improving the rates of selective collection of waste electrical and electronic equipment.

Another line promoted focuses on the effective management of waste generated in the fishing sector. The Galician Federation of Redeiras Artesás O Peirao, develops a project aimed at professionals in fishing ports so that they can carry out tasks of classification and management of fishing materials and waste.

In the commercial field, the project promoted by the Professional Association of Environmental Companies in Andalusia and Galicia pursues the profitable management of the waste generated by the activity of commerce, catering services and bars, offices and markets.

Other initiatives framed in the Empleaverde Program carry out specific actions related to waste management. This is the case of the Spanish Platform for Sustainable Footwear and Fashion 2020: Protect-Adapt-Promote-Emprende, which is developed by the Federation of Spanish Footwear Industries. This project seeks a new culture of sustainability in Spanish fashion through the introduction of eco-innovation criteria and minimization of environmental impacts.

The MAGRAMA, through the Biodiversity Foundation, supports this type of initiative that is committed to a circular economy, which reincorporates the materials contained in waste into the production process, thus avoiding the extraction of new natural resources