The Recycling and Recovery International Trade Fair, SRR, is putting together its Organising Committee

At the FAIR OF MADRID, the Organising Committee was presented on 13 November, for the 5th Recycling and Recovery International Trade Fair, SRR, organised by IFEMA and which will be held from 15 to 17 June 2016, at FERIA DE MADRID. SRR, together with the TECMA, ESCLEAN and ENVIFOOD events, includes the greatest meeting point for the recycling sector that is held in Spain, the second FORUM FOR SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENTAL SOLUTIONS, FSMS, which, will also host the CITIES FORUM.

The Organising Committee of SRR consists of the Spanish Federation for Retrieval and Recycling, FER; the Spanish Association of Car Recycling and Scrapping, AEDRA; the National Association of Plastic Recycling; the Spanish Association of Paper and Cardboard Recovery, REPACAR; the National Association of Environmental Auditors and Analysers, ANAVAM; the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment, MAGRAMA, with the General Management of Environmental and Natural Environmental Quality and Evaluation; the National Association of Pallet Recycling, ANREPA; the Spanish Association of Standardisation and Certification, AENOR; the Spanish Association for the Environmental Treatment of Out of Use Vehicles, SIGRAUTO; the National Group for Glass Recycling, ANAREVI, and the National Association of Plastic Recycling, ANARPLA.

Faced with the important growth of the demand for goods worldwide and with the threat of the depletion of raw materials, in this edition the establishment of the Circular Economy will be of particular importance, which has come about as a necessity.  The production system based on a linear economy with a "cradle to cradle" concept reminds us that sooner or later the resources available to us will be depleted and all of the machinery of our economy could collapse.

The Circular Economy has presented a possible solution to this collapse, in such a way that the products and resources contained in them can be used again and again on an infinite basis. Nevertheless, in order for this to be the case, the current linear management systems needs to be transformed, in which waste is managed with the aim to minimise its impact on the environment, in a comprehensive system in which the product concept, its eco-design, its manufacturing, the operational phase and the recycling are coordinated in a perfect manner.

. Taking on the challenge
The Organising Committee of SRR recognises that the current recycling sector is prepared to take on the challenge, which it has in fact already demonstrated in some waste flow processes that are recycled in a perfect manner. Therefore, for example, waste like lead summarises what perfect circular recycling is. When the last lead mine was closed in Spain 32 years ago, and ever since then, 100 por ciento of lead that is used in products that are so necessary, like vehicle batteries, have been recycled. And furthermore, a system has been implemented for both the design of the battery and its eventual collection at the end of the cycle, which means that nearly all batteries can be once again put back into the system, to be used as a raw material for other new batteries.

Throughout the whole process, waste managers, in other words, the people responsible for the recycling, are fundamental in order to ensure that products are suitably treated and that all of their components are once again introduced into the production chain. Luckily we are supported by a very professional and highly technical industry, which has carried out a truly industrial revolution over the last 20 years, which has meant that nowadays the industry is ready to take on the enormous challenge, together with the rest of the society, which will involve implementing a true Circular Economy.

In the design and manufacturing phase for new products, it is fundamental that it is taken into account that such products shall later be intended for recycling in their entirety and, furthermore, that the use of raw materials deriving from recycled materials needs to be increased, more so than from raw materials extracted from natural means.

. PEMAR
Turning waste into new resources by means of recycling is an essential objective on behalf of the industrial policies and the sustainability of resources across Europe. In this way, over the last few years, the recycling sector has a lot to contribute towards the achievement of a Circular Economy strategy.

Along these lines, the Cabinet has approved the Framework State Plan for Waste Management (PEMAR) 2016-2022, following proposals from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment, which establishes the strategic lines and measures needed to make progress towards the cited Circular Economy and to promote the preparation for re-use and recycling.
 

The end objective of PEMAR, in the same way as that of the Community waste policy, is to turn Spain into a society with an efficient use of resources. In short, it involves replacing a linear economy based on production, consumption and disposal, with a circular economy in which the materials that contain the waste are introduced back into the production process over and over again, for the production of new products or raw materials.
This plan, which is the instrument for guiding the waste policy in Spain in the coming six years, will encourage the implementation of the measures that provide a better environmental result and that ensure that Spain complies with the legal objectives for waste management.
 

In addition to the environmental benefits of the Plan (protection of human health, of natural resources and the climate), this initiative also contributes social and economic benefits associated with increased economic activity related with waste, with the increase in availability of raw materials in safe conditions and with the creation of employment deriving from the advancement for the preparation for re-use and recycling.
According to estimates from the European Commission, if all of the applicable legislation concerning waste management were to be implemented, more than 400,000 jobs would be created in the European Union, of which 52,000 would be in Spain.

. FSMS umbrella organisation
FER is the main association of the waste recycling sector and one of the organising entities of the fifth edition of the Recycling and Recovery International Trade Fair, SRR, which, together with the 18th edition of the International Trade Fair for Town Planning and the Environment, TECMA; the 2nd Event for Cleaning and Professional Hygiene, ESCLEAN – in collaboration with the Association of Manufacturers and Importers of Industrial Cleaning Machinery, AEFIMIL-, and the second ENVIFOOD Meeting Point, supported by the Spanish Federation of Food and Beverage Industries, FIAB, and the debate space CITIES FORUM which will be held from 15 to 17 June 2016, at FERIA DE MADRID, the second edition of the FORUM OF SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENTAL SOLUTIONS, FSMS.

FSMS is a summarised overview with clearly informative purposes, which conveys to society in general terms the dedication of the industries participating in the treatment of resources and the respect for the environment, presenting solutions and applications in the form of innovative products and services in this sector.

This FORUM becomes the best event for all experts to come together in which they can present environmental solutions for the industries. Without a doubt, it stands as a unique meeting point, in which debate forums and the exhibition of products and services take place, for the professionals involved in the environmental sustainability applicable to the industries and to the actions in cities. The experts are guided by experts.