ECOMONDO 2020

On November 3, 2020, ECOMONDO began, the benchmark fair in Europe for industrial and technological innovation in the circular economy, which this year had to be held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It has been two weeks of B2B meetings, networking and seminars, where the green economy community has had the opportunity to forge global relationships on a digital platform. In total, more than 5,000 business opportunities and 73,000 views of the profiles of the 400 companies that have actively used this digital space have been generated.

The main topics that were addressed were:

• Waste and resources.
• Circular bio-economy.
• Reclamation and hydrogeological risk.
• Water

On November 5, Bioazul participated in this event together with the University of Bologna (UNIBO) to present the FIT4REUSE project. Atilio Toscano, professor at UNIBO, introduced this project on the use of reclaimed water in the Mediterranean agricultural sector and highlighted the work carried out so far. Bioazul is currently working on the development of guidelines for the use of reclaimed water for farmers.

Rafael Casielles, project manager of Bioazul, was the one who presented the legal framework in Spain for the reuse of water based on RD 1620/2007: Regulation of water reuse. During his presentation he explained the quality criteria that reclaimed water for agriculture must meet and how, in turn, this Royal Decree is affected by Regulation (EU) 2020/741 of the European Parliament and of the Council of May 25, 2020 relative to the minimum requirements for the reuse of water. This European regulation represents a challenge for adaptation as it requires stricter quality requirements and the obligation to carry out a Risk Management Plan for water regeneration stations. The European Commission, through the JRC, is working on guides to facilitate the drafting and implementation of these plans, but they are not yet available. Therefore, there are still many unresolved questions about the implications of the new regulation.

Rafael also talked about the situation in Spain in relation to the reuse of water. Currently around 10% of the treated water is destined for reuse according to INE data. There is therefore a great potential for improvement, especially in coastal areas where reclaimed water represents a net increase in water resources.