The entity Casa Maristas Azterlan has launched this project for the control and advanced management of woody biowaste.

The entity Casa Maristas Azterlan has launched the project “Control and advanced management of woody biowaste: minimization of open burning and reduction of the impacts associated with the practice”, an initiative that aims to determine an action plan for the management of this waste in the region of Duranguesado (Vizcaya).

This plan aims to find technically viable, economically efficient and environmentally sustainable solutions to minimise the impacts of burning stubble in the open air with actions focused on the composting process and the use of stubble as fuel in biomass boilers.

In addition, a management tool, developed in whole or in part by the institutions supporting the project, is sought to become a technical foundation for the competent public bodies of the State.

During the development of the project, a diagnosis will be carried out on the state of woody biowaste management that will provide reliable data on the burns carried out per year and the conditions in which they are carried out and identify the environmental risks posed by this practice. An assessment of the reduction of environmental impacts will also be carried out.

Among the expected results, in addition to the action plan with control measures, it is expected to implement at least one action aimed at the use of woody waste as structures for composting and another aimed at its use as fuel for biomass boilers. In addition, it is intended to reach 60,000 people and reduce the number of controlled burns in the open air by 80% to minimize the number of fires and increase the number of days with good air quality in the Duranguesado region by 10%.

To this end, a series of activities will be carried out focused on:

• Initial diagnosis of the current management of bio-waste
• Drawing up a regional action plan
• Implementation of the actions approved by the association
• Partial diagnosis of environmental improvement
• Dissemination of the project