The Autonomous Community of the Region of Murcia and Repsol helped the circular economy and recycling again today. Juan María Vázquez, the Regional Minister for the Environment, Research, Universities, and the Mar Menor, opened the Repsol service station’s collection point for spent cooking oil. This added 96 more to the company’s network.
“This is another step in the regional government’s plan to support the circular economy through cooperation between the public and private sectors,” the councillor said, with Repsol’s Director of Mobility Strategy and Business Development, Jorge Escuín, and the Mayor of Cartagena, Noelia Arroyo.
As part of the Circular Economy and Decarbonisation Strategy, the Regional Ministry and Repsol agreed to collect and recycle wasted cooking oil from homes in the Region and turn it into biofuel. This project is the consequence of that agreement. Juan María Vázquez, the Regional Minister, said, “This is just the first step. We want to keep working with other businesses and groups to make the collection network as big as possible.”
Repsol opened its renewable fuel plant in the Escombreras complex in April of last year. It consumes a diet of organic waste, such spent cooking oil, and cost €250 million to build. The councillor said, “This is a unique plant in Spain that makes renewable fuel that is now sent to more than 1,300 service stations in the company’s network.”
The area is planned to collect more than 20,000 litres of leftover cooking oil per year. This would make 18,000 litres of renewable fuel that can be used in cars without changing the engines. The Region of Murcia is one of the first autonomous communities to join this effort to get back most of the 180,000 tonnes. Madrid, Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y León, Galicia, and Aragón are also taking part.
The regional government has a detailed plan for recycling, called the Comprehensive Waste Prevention and Management Plan for the Circular Economy, or the Recircula Plan 2024–2035. It works with businesses to make this happen. “We have €18 million in aid coming in over the next three years for local governments. This money will be used to set up collection points for this organic waste and to make the Ecoparks where they are usually located better,” the regional government official said.
“Our goal is to make collection points as close as possible to people so that their recycling efforts and commitment to the circular economy don’t go to waste,” said the councillor, who also talked about the investments in this area that are part of the Recircula Plan. “Having a lot of collection points will make it easier to ‘feed’ biofuel plants and help the circular economy grow,” he said.
Valley of Escombreras
Juan María Vázquez also talked about Repsol’s strong support for the Escombreras Valley industrial hub. He said, “This will soon be seen in the new green hydrogen electrolyser, a €300 million investment that puts the Region of Murcia at the forefront of this clean energy technology for the future.”
He also stressed that the regional government “has achieved investments that create wealth and jobs” through its policies to make things easier to manage and lower taxes. He also talked about how the Industrial Plan “gives renewable energy and the Escombreras Valley and Cartagena hubs, in general, a role as drivers for the industrial development of the Region of Murcia.”
Author: Derek Appleton
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