The managers of 25 international convention centres visited the waste processing plant – the first of its kind in Spain – at the International Convention Centre of Barcelona (CCIB).
On 29 November, the managers of 25 international convention centres were given a tour of the waste processing plant at CCIB, as an example of good environmental practices.
The visit was organized under the aegis of the Event Management Summit of the International Association of Congress Centres (AIPC), which was held in Barcelona from 29-30 November.
Opened in October 2008, the plant is a pioneering initiative in Spain, since it classifies six types of waste products, separating metal from plastic, all of which reduces their environmental impact. The plant separates waste into six fractions, one more than stipulated by municipal regulations.
Installed in the centre’s loading area, the waste processing plant – occupying an area of 300m2 – has six large, colour-coded containers: blue (paper), green (glass), organic (organic waste), mustard (metal), yellow (plastic), and brown (miscellaneous waste).
In addition, all the communal areas are equipped with a set of dustbins, with colour-coded bags, thus avoiding confusion and facilitating their transfer to the waste processing plant. The authorized waste management company Foment del Reciclatge is responsible for collecting waste for its adequate treatment.
Parallel to the recycling of the six different types of general waste. CCIB manages and controls special waste generated internally by the centre. The waste processing plant has an area set aside for the management of neon lights, light bulbs, paint, varnish, oil, grease, batteries, accumulators, toner and ink cartridges, computer waste, etc.
Special waste is subject to a parallel control by CCIB’s cleaning department, due to the importance of classifying it correctly and controlling the maximum storage period, which should never exceed six months.
This thorough and complex process is even more important when taking into account the size of CCIB (100,000m2), with a capacity for hosting events with up to 15,000 delegates.
CCIB’s waste processing plant forms a part of the wide-reaching green policies that it has implemented since opening in 2004. Along these lines, CCIB will soon obtain the ISO 14001 certification, an international standard governing the implementation of efficient environmental management policies.
EIBTM acknowledges CCIB’s sustainability efforts
In acknowledgement of the CCIB’s environmental policies, the organizers of EIBTM 2009, held in Barcelona from 1-3 December, have awarded the centre a sustainability certificate both for its permanent green policies and for those implemented during the event. Out of the 20 initiatives put forward by EIBTM, CCIB has put into practice 12, seven more than the limit required by the event’s organizers. These include proposing sustainable ideas and improvements for the event, reducing the use of paper in the centre’s exhibition area and facilities, promoting green initiatives among clients and suppliers, having a proven environmental policy, and recycling waste.
Waste processing plant at CCIB
