ERP takes part in ESTRAEE project

ERP takes part in European project to develop WEEE management in Galicia and northern Portugal

ERP Spain and ERP Portugal are participating in the European project ESTRAEE, which is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund. The project, which seeks to improve the management of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) in the cross-border area of Galicia and northern Portugal, involves citizens, local government, and waste operators that are ERP Spain and ERP Portugal partners.

With a total budget of over two million euros, the ESTRAEE project seeks to boost the circular economy in the secondary raw material market, especially for critical materials. The project draws on innovation and technological development to monitor and analyse the current state of WEEE reuse, and its regulation at national and international level, and to develop adequate protocols to increase reuse activity.

Through these protocols and a business plan, ESTRAEE will improve the municipal collection systems in the target regions and adapt recycling centres to ensure that WEEE is correctly stored and identified for possible reuse. The plan will also introduce the most appropriate procedures for making sure that the goods reach the right treatment centres where they can be prepared for reuse.

In addition to adapting civic amenity sites and drafting a municipal ordinance which lays out best practices, the ESTRAEE project aims to implement a list of by-products derived from the reusable WEEE and electronic goods which are common to both regions.

The project will include life cycle analyses of the different types of WEEE, such as washing machines, dishwashers, tablets and smartphones, and will compare their reuse and recycling. ESTRAEE will also encourage citizens, as well as producers and manufacturers, to participate in the new WEEE management strategy and will train all stakeholders to prioritise reuse, when possible, for WEEE management.

Along with ERP Spain and ERP Portugal, the consortium in charge of carrying out this project is made up of: the Provincial Council of Pontevedra (main partner); Lipor (the association that manages waste in eight municipalities of the Greater Porto Area); Revertia Reusing and Recycling; and the Fundación Centro Tecnológico de Eficiencia y Sostenibilidad Energética (Energylab).

ERP participation in the ESTRAEE project

ERP is actively participating in the following activities:

Activity 1. Adaptation of 18 civic amenity sites

ERP Spain is responsible for preparing the preliminary study and situation analyses for nine civic amenity sites participating in the project on the Spanish side.

Together with Revertia, ERP Spain is also preparing a guide for the adaptation of sites, and the definition of procedures for receiving and classifying WEEE. Draft operating manuals are currently being prepared for each civic amenity site, which will be finalised once the adaptation work is completed.

ERP Portugal is carrying out the same tasks with its partner in Portugal, Lipor. ERP Portugal has also prepared a comprehensive draft study of the targeted products and the resources and materials that can be obtained from WEEE. The draft functional specifications have also been prepared for the app that will list these resources and materials, which is being developed in activity 4.

Activity 3. Life cycle analyses comparing the recycling and reuse of different types of WEEE

ERP is sending WEEE to Revertia (Spain) and Lipor (Portugal) for the representative sampling of WEEE types.

Activity 4. Listing of secondary raw materials and resources

ERP Spain is preparing a package of resources and raw materials and ERP Portugal is designing the electronic app that will support the project.

Activity 5. Management and coordination

ERP Spain is coordinating the meetings for the activities in which it is taking part, and ERP Portugal is organising the work for Activity 4.

Activity 6. Communication and dissemination

ERP is involved with the following tasks:

• Event planning and assistance
• Drafting of manuals and best practice guides
• Drafting of communications plans