CREC President Highlights the Transformation of Waste into Resources and Positions the Waste Sector as a Key Driver of Industrial Competitiveness and Circularity
The President of the Catalan Waste Cluster (CREC), Elisabet Alier, is featured in a new edition of RETEMA magazine’s “In First Person” section, where she reflects on the challenges and opportunities facing the waste sector in the transition towards a competitive circular economy.
Under the title “From Waste to Resource: The Waste Sector as a Pillar of the Circular Economy Value Chain”, the article advocates for a shift in the traditional perception of waste, encouraging stakeholders to view it as a strategic resource for industry, economic resilience, and sustainability.
In her article, the CREC President highlights that circularity is no longer merely an environmental aspiration but an economic and regulatory necessity. However, she warns that its effective implementation continues to be constrained by structural challenges such as the lack of robust markets for recycled materials, regulatory fragmentation, and the need for incentives that stimulate demand for secondary raw materials.
She emphasizes that the sector’s main challenge today is not technological but economic and organizational. For this reason, she considers it essential to create stable market conditions that enable recycled materials to compete on equal terms with virgin raw materials, while also advancing regulatory harmonization to provide legal certainty and encourage investment.
The Waste Sector: A Key Enabler of Industrial Circularity
The article highlights the role of the waste sector as a connector between waste streams and production chains, between technological innovation and industrial application, and between public policies and business realities.
According to Elisabet Alier, the ability to transform waste into high-quality resources will largely determine the success of the circular economy model. This transformation requires effective collaboration among all actors across the value chain, including producers, waste managers, recyclers, manufacturers, technology centers, and public administrations.
CREC: A Catalyst for the Circular Value Chain
In this context, the President of CREC highlights the Cluster’s role as a platform that connects companies and organizations across the entire value chain. CREC works to foster cooperation, accelerate collaborative projects, and facilitate dialogue between the supply and demand sides of circular materials.
In addition, the organization serves as a hub for knowledge sharing and strategic foresight, helping companies interpret regulatory changes, identify opportunities, and bring the sector’s voice to decision-making forums at both the Catalan and European levels.
The article also underscores the importance of collaborative projects in turning the principles of the circular economy into tangible results, particularly in areas such as material traceability, the circularity of critical raw materials, and circular construction.
Read Elisabet Alier’s full article in RETEMA through the link below or in the magazine’s online edition.
