The Crea Consortium, the entity in charge of managing the waste of 14 municipalities in l’Alcoià and Alto and Medio Vinalopó, is immersed in a pioneering study that could lead to a profound transformation in the footwear sector in the province of Alicante. This is a joint project between the public entity and the Inescop technology center, with the collaboration of the Vaersa company of the Generalitat Valenciana, through which a technical test of biodegradability and compostability of the remains of leather and skins generated by companies dedicated to the manufacture of shoes and their components, an essential industry for the economic fabric of Vinalopó, which has spent decades facing the problem that the waste it generates in its production phase represents for the environment and the saving of energy. costs.
The project is called Bioreq II, it is financed by the Valencian Institute of Business Competitiveness (Ivace) together with FEDER funds, and it is being developed in the waste treatment plant of the Crea Consortium, which is located in Villena. The entity has ceded a community composting island and all the organic matter necessary to develop the process in which footwear waste is introduced in order to be able to analyze the results.
At the moment, tests are being carried out with different materials from the shoe industry under different conditions of temperature, humidity and mixture to evaluate the best biodegradability scenario. Another aspect that the study aims to clarify are the microorganisms involved in the biodegradability phase and its composting process, as well as the quality of the compost or fertilizer obtained, which includes footwear waste. With all this, it will be determined if a leather meets the parameters to be considered sustainable, that is, biodegradable and compostable, and it will also be possible to know which are the main microorganisms responsible for its decomposition.
According to the president of the Crea Consortium and mayor of Villena, Fulgencio Cerdán, “the results obtained will be very important and valuable for an area like ours, in which the footwear sector is of key economic and social importance.” In addition, he considers that the project will achieve ways to improve sustainability in the management of footwear waste and, at the same time, encourage collaboration between research centers and public entities responsible for the responsible management of footwear. waste, «since they are beneficial due to the synergies generated within the framework of a circular economy».
Precisely one year ago, the Consortium drew up and approved a strategic plan for the management of footwear waste due to its relevance in its area of influence. For this, it was decided to collaborate with the key sectors of the sector and from there the first contacts arose with Inescop in Elda, whose teams have already been working for several years on different programs within the same line of research. Separately it was difficult to execute the proposed project. Basically because Inescop has the scientific knowledge but lacks the facilities and organic waste, while the Crea Consortium has both but not the technological capacity to carry out the study. That is why cooperation in this case has been essential.
Materials based on recycled fibers and sustainable finishes
Once the study is finished, its results will be transferable and usable by the entire footwear sector in the Valencian Community. But it should be noted that Inescop is also working, in parallel, on the development of footwear materials from leather waste and from other industries, such as the agri-food industry, through different types of agricultural waste and biomass. This research, disseminated during the month of June and framed in the project called Greenmatshoe financed by IVACE and ERDF funds, responds to the principles of the circular economy to promote a new model of responsible production and consumption.
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Eddie is an Australian news reporter with over 9 years in the industry and has published on Forbes and tech crunch.