Electricity prices could be halved by 2030

A report by the Bank of Spain forecasts that renewable energies could bring down the price of electricity by 50% by 2030. Furthermore, it predicts that the presence of renewable energies in final energy use will represent 42% of the total market.

In a study titled ‘The impact of renewable energies on the wholesale price of electricity’, the Bank of Spain forecasts that renewable energies could bring down the price of electricity by an additional 50% by 2030 if the deployment foreseen in the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC) is met.

‘In addition to contributing to the climate transition, renewables have a very important role to play in reducing wholesale electricity prices and this importance is expected to increase in the future,’ the report says.

Wind and solar energy went from 26% of total electricity generation in 2019 to more than 40% in the first six months of this year. The percentage of electricity demand covered by renewables reached a high of 47% in the second quarter of 2024.

In addition, the study shows that wholesale electricity prices were more than 40% lower during the first half of this year than would have been observed had wind and solar generation capacity remained at 2019 levels.

The importance of external factors

The BdE recognises that, in any case, the future behaviour of these prices is subject to considerable uncertainty, as it is conditioned by the evolution of different supply factors or the adaptation of demand to new levels of renewable energy generation. In this context, it points out that natural gas prices still have an important effect on market prices, as has been seen with the price increases following the sanctions imposed on Russia.

However, the report notes that the prediction of lower electricity prices is based on a confidence interval of between 45% and 60%, assuming that the price of natural gas remains at current levels and that the pace of implementation of the ambitious investment projects planned to increase renewable electricity generation capacity does not slow down.

On the other hand, the climate targets set by the European Union to reduce CO₂ emissions by 55% by 2030 in comparison to 1990, as well as to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, will continue to have a substantial effect on the price to wholesale markets.

The BdE makes the reflection that ‘under the marginalist system in force in European markets, electricity prices are set based on the offers of the most expensive technology needed to meet the demand of each time slot’. Therefore, ‘an increase in renewable energy generation would affect wholesale prices to the extent that it displaces other technologies with a higher marginal cost from the energy mix needed to meet demand in certain time slots’.

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The sun tax was a mandatory fee for users who had self-supply of photovoltaic energy, who were made to pay a tax to maintain the electricity grid. The Spanish government eliminated this tax in 2018, and more and more people are installing solar panels in their homes. 

New regulations

After we said goodbye to the sun tax in 2018, the new 15/2018 law of self-consumption of photovoltaic energy entered into force. 

And what does this law do to facilitate the installation of solar panels in your house? According to Col·lectiu Solar, the social movement that promotes solar energy in society, with the end of the tax and the entry into force of the new law:

• we have the ability to inject excess energy into the grid,
• we can share the self-consumption of energy,
• the limit of 10 kW/home is removed: up to 15 kW, no permission from the electricity company is required (however, a low-voltage electrical certificate is required),
• the requirement for an output counter is removed,
• the use of more solar power than contracted is also allowed,
• the owner of the installation does not need to be the consumer,
• you can contract the desired power (always multiple of 100 W),
• the administration record is created for simplified self-consumption,
• and self-consumption sanctions are streamlined.

Increase in photovoltaic self-consumption systems

This change has made the number of photovoltaic self-consumption installations in Catalonia skyrocket, especially since the approval of the new self-consumption law in 2019. According to data from the Institut Català d’Energia, until September 2020, 6,377 photovoltaic self-consumption systems in operation are registered in Catalan homes, which have a total capacity of 68.57 MW. We also see an increase in systems in 2020, almost double that in 2019. Besides, these systems are smaller, which tells us that there is a boom in systems for home self-consumption.

The municipality with the largest number of self-consumption systems in Catalonia is Sant Cugat del Vallès, followed by Barcelona, Vallirana, Sabadell, Terrassa, Santa Eulàlia de Ronçana, Alella, Castelldefels, and Lleida. 

As for the municipalities with the most installed power, we see that Barcelona tops the list, followed by Sant Cugat del Vallès, Balenyà, Granollers, Reus, Vic, Lleida, and Terrassa. 

As a curiosity, the municipality with the most self-consumption photovoltaic systems in Catalonia, according to the number of inhabitants, is Santa Eulàlia de Ronçana, a small municipality of about 7,200 inhabitants, in the Vallès Oriental region. 

Now that you know more, have you decided yourself to install a system to generate solar energy in your home? The Barcelona City Council has a practical guide with everything you need if you want to install photovoltaic panels in your home, featuring a guide on costs, security, legal issues, or doubts that may arise if you live in a residential building. 11Onze wanted to give you an overview of what photovoltaic energy is and the current possibility of installing these systems in your home. Of course, it is up to you to decide how to take advantage of sunlight in your home.

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A study shows that the benefits of biodiversity are equivalent to twice the global GDP.

No country has achieved the diversity targets set by the Convention on Biological Diversity, with a deadline in 2020. We now face a funding gap of more than $700 billion by 2030, warns the UN Secretary General. 

That is why 2021 has to be the year for reconciliation between humanity and nature. So far we have been destroying our planet, we have been abusing it as if we had a spare one, our current resource consumption requires almost two planets, but we only have one. If we compare the history of the earth to a calendar year, we have used one third of those natural resources in the last 0.2 seconds.  

Actions such as air, land, and water pollution have provoked a counter-attack by nature that is evident in record temperatures, the collapse of diversity, the spread of deserts and in the numerous and increasingly dangerous extreme events such as fires, floods, and hurricanes.

A planet for biodiversity 

Biodiversity or biological diversity is, according to the International Convention on Biological Diversity, the term that refers to the wide variety of living things on Earth and what happens to the natural patterns that shape them. They are the result of billions of years of evolution according to natural processes and also the increasing influence of human activities. Biodiversity also includes the variety of ecosystems and genetic differences within each species that allows the combination of multiple life forms. The mutual interactions with the rest of the environment make the sustainment of life on earth possible.

Biodiversity is an essential basis for our economic well-being. While industrial production is currently one of the main causes of pressure on biodiversity, such as land use, overexploitation or pollution, businesses in all sectors can also be key drivers of biodiversity conservation. All stakeholders now need to work together to integrate the value of biodiversity into our decision-making and develop solutions that harmonise nature and economic growth.

Biodiversity in business

Many companies are not willing to let company growth come at the expense of people and the planet. For this reason, they are changing the way business is done. Internal plans have been carried out to help create a world in which we can all live well within the natural limits of the planet. By using resources to address issues such as health and hygiene, gender equality, climate change and plastic packaging waste, long and short-term benefits to society are being generated. 

In 2010 many companies started to be sustainably conscious, the impact that all these changes have made is quite significant: costs and risks have been reduced, and of course, the most important value, to build trust in the consumer. 

Danone, for example, is acting against climate change, biodiversity loss and water scarcity. It is reducing its carbon footprint with the aim of achieving zero emissions by 2050. Beyond its production sites, it is working towards these goals in areas where it shares responsibility, especially in agriculture, promoting regenerative agriculture to protect soil, water and biodiversity, promoting animal welfare and empowering a new generation of farmers.

It also has its own policies and tools aimed at promoting biodiversity:

• An example of this is its forestry policy, where it makes a statement of intent to eliminate deforestation from its supply chain and contribute to reforestation.
• Or the fund dedicated to promoting its local ecosystems, the Danone Ecosystem Fund, which supports the company’s projects with a social purpose. This is the case of Renueva, a Danone Aguas waste management and revaluation system which, together with other partners, works to recycle out-of-home consumer packaging, and has a plant in Barcelona Montcada i Reixac.

 17 goals to transform the world

The United Nations has created 17 goals to transform our world. The Sustainable Development Goals are the blueprint for a sustainable future for all. They are interrelated and incorporate the global challenges we face every day, such as poverty, inequality, climate, environmental degradation, prosperity, peace, and justice. 

In order to leave no one behind, it is important that we achieve each of these goals by 2030:

1. End poverty
2. Zero hunger 
3. Health and well-being 
4. Quality education
5. Gender equality
6. Clean water and sanitation
7. Affordable and clean energy
8. Decent work and economic growth 
9. Industry, innovation, and infrastructure
10. Reducing inequalities
11. Sustainable cities and communities
12. Responsible production and consumption
13. Climate action
14. Undersea life
15. Life of terrestrial ecosystems
16. Peace, justice and strong institutions
17. Partnerships to achieve their goals

And this is our daily goal and that of business too. There will probably be many companies that will put this into practice anonymously. Other companies will post on their website the development plans and all the changes they have made; some examples are: Cepsa, Decathlon, Ferrovial, San Miguel Mahou, Iberdrola, Unilever, Danone, among others. 

Biodiversity is part of progress

We have to demystify the idea that biodiversity is synonymous with increasing costs, but quite the opposite. They go hand in hand together with the economy. Thanks to these gestures and changes, not only will we be able to reduce costs, but we will also have a healthier, more sustainable and better life for future generations. 

A documentary not to be missed is “David Attenborough: A Life on our Planet”, in which the renowned naturalist reflects on both the defining moments of his life and the devastating changes he has witnessed. The documentary is available on the Netflix platform and addresses some challenges of life on our planet. He explains how much ground the natural world has lost globally in less than a century, he witnesses the change in nature in his more than 50 years of work, and notes that the world is a unique and spectacular wonder. Moreover, Attenborough sends a message of hope to future generations, revealing the solutions to save our planet from disaster.

We can start with the famous 7 R’s: Recycle, Reuse, Reduce, Redesign, Repair, Renew and Recover. Among all of us, we can achieve it. Do you want to be part of this change? 

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The demands of the peasants and farmers, which are part of a European-wide unrest, present the country with a colossal challenge. The one to decide if Catalonia should be food sovereign or if it should renounce its own land. In 11Onze we have it clear: you don’t play with food.

Everyone knows that the primary sector is essential, but it seems that we sometimes forget it. That’s why Catalan farmers, like Europeans, are on a war footing. The demands are simple and could be summed up in one: have some respect for a sector that puts the plate on the table for Catalonia of the 8 million.

Excessive bureaucracy, economic suffocation and regulatory pressure are the battle horses of some farmers who see that the poor conditions in their sector discourage the possible generational change. Nowadays, the peasant is a romantic with a tractor. People who love the land and work for it even if they don’t earn a living. Complaints of having to sell below the cost of production are endemic, and for some time now the lack of protection of farmers against intermediaries, large chains and the importation of products from other countries, which very often do not meet the very demanding regulations that are asked of European farmers and ranchers.

The European greyness

Catalan food sovereignty is in question, in part, due to the European regulatory scourge. The EU, governed from the gray Brussels, pushes its convoluted regulations down. The bureaucratic labyrinth launches itself towards the immediately lower rung of the chain and goes down through the administrations until it falls on its face in front of peasants unable to manage this hellish list. The wisest people in the world, the ones who know how to create food, are asked to also be office workers and collect data and fill in endless forms so that they go up the chain again and satisfy the paperwork thirst of a Brussels bureaucrat.

In December 2022, the farmer and Junts deputy, Salvador Vergés, read in Parliament a list of the measures required of farmers. The clip has gone viral these days as a result of the protests and, if it weren’t for the fact that it deals with such a serious subject, it would make me laugh.

🎙 Ahir, al Parlament, vaig fer una llarga interpel·lació a la Consellera reclamant-li q redueixi la paperassa i la burocràcia q ofega la pagesia. Aquí en teniu un 1r vídeo, on recomano als diputats q s’agafin fort a l’escó x aguantar el ruixat d tràmits d l’exemple q hi explico: pic.twitter.com/2flJLENVa8

— Salvador Vergés i… Tejero! (@vadorverges) December 22, 2022

Drought and priorities

To all the usual problems of the peasantry, this year also added the drought that the whole country is experiencing. The farmers, by decision of the Catalan government, were among the first to receive the blows of the cuts in water consumption. While they had to attend, amazed, a summer tourism campaign without limitations. And they must continue to be surprised, even, seeing the greenery of the golf courses, observing the huge water leaks declared by the ACA and realizing that the water bottling companies are still extracting water from the rivers. Supermarkets are full of plastic bottles filled with water, even though producing plastic bottles pollutes and forces extra water consumption. All to market an essential good that others are denied. Is it normal, then, that the peasants wonder how long the joke will last?

Desolate sovereignty

All this leaves a discouraging picture: that of a country unable to establish and manage its basic priorities. If we are not able to guarantee food production and water, what do we aspire to be? For this reason, the farmers redouble their pressure, although they were already received by the president of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès. The president often uploads videos on his networks where he is seen cooking recipes. It’s a relaxed way to show off in front of the public, but where do the eggs come from that the Most Honourable uses to make the cake? Where do flour, butter, milk, meat, apples, or artichokes come from? The answer of an urban politician would be simple: from the supermarket.

At a time when it seems that Europe has turned its back on the primary sector to obsess over the war economy, looking at Russia, since 11Onze we want to put ourselves on the side of the peasantry, remembering, once again, the risk of a food crisis that we face.

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És a l’estiu quan més persones ens apropem al mar i a la muntanya, i inconscientment ens posem novament a prova com a societat pel que fa a la manera de relacionar-nos amb la natura. Analitzar el nostre civisme ens ajudarà a mantenir l’esperit autocrític necessari per créixer en clau personal i col·lectiva. Si la natura ho és tot, el civisme també.

Sigui per pràctiques d’oci o per activitat industrial, a Catalunya en les darreres dècades han desaparegut un 54% d’espècies que viuen en rius i llacs, un 30% en zones agrícoles i prats i un 10% en boscos i matollars. Les conclusions d’aquest estudi, realitzat pel Departament de Territori i Sostenibilitat, assenyalen actuacions humanes com l’alteració dels hàbitats naturals, l’explotació del sòl i el canvi climàtic, però la realitat és que tots podem contribuir-hi si duem a terme comportaments incívics o irrespectuosos en visitar espais naturals. 

La petjada de l’ésser humà

Sigui de vacances o passejant pel nostre entorn, segurament tots haurem presenciat comportaments incívics que posen en risc la mateixa natura i, fins i tot, la seguretat de les persones. Ens referim a actituds com fer soroll, embrutar l’entorn, deixar residus, molestar o perjudicar a la fauna, destorbar la tranquil·litat d’altres persones, i especialment dels residents locals, o comportaments de risc com fumar o encendre foc en zones amb risc d’incendi.

El nostre desig, com a turistes, és buscar llocs de tranquil·litat i on gaudir de la natura, però no sempre anirà d’acord amb les intencions de la resta de visitants. I si bé cadascú pot tenir conceptes diferents d’excursió, de pícnic o de tranquil·litat, hi ha límits com els residus o el soroll que travessen la línia del civisme en aquests espais.

Normes de convivència als Parcs Nacionals

En els darrers anys, pràcticament tots els parcs naturals de Catalunya han creat codis de conducta o recomanacions cíviques que tots els visitants han de complir amb un sol objectiu: preservar el territori. És el cas del Parc Nacional d’Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici, que acull anualment més de mig milió de visitants. Un nombre tan elevat de visitants pot posar en risc la biodiversitat de la zona, i fins i tot la mateixa seguretat dels excursionistes, si no es prenen les mesures correctes. Així doncs, què cal tenir en compte?

Abans de l’excursió

• En primer lloc informar-nos d’on anem, com és la zona, quina temperatura farà o quin recorregut volem seguir. Portar l’equip adequat serà clau per gaudir d’una bona experiència.
• Preparar els àpats en funció de la durada de l’excursió i sempre tenint en compte els residus que podrem generar, ja que els haurem de portar amb nosaltres fins que puguem reciclar-los adequadament.
• Si portem animals, dur-los lligats i cuidar la seva hidratació.
• Si accedim fins al parc amb vehicle propi, respectar els límits de velocitat i sense fer més soroll del compte. A l’hora d’aparcar, procurem fer-ho a les zones habilitades i senyalitzades.
• Utilitzar transport públic per accedir al parc sempre que sigui possible.

Durant l’excursió

• No sortir del recorregut marcat, així evitarem perdre’ns, però sobretot, evitarem trepitjar zones que no estan pensades per a visitants i que poden afectar a la fauna i la flora.
• Mantenir la distància de seguretat, tant entre vianants com entre ciclistes.
• No està permès banyar-se en rius i estanys, ja que tot i semblar-nos una activitat d’allò més natural, la realitat és que pot alterar i contaminar les aigües.
• Menjar a les zones habilitades. I si el recorregut no ho permet, procurar fer-ho sense deixar residus.
• Prohibit encendre foc. Una mesura que s’extrema en certes zones o períodes de sequera, però que és aplicable a totes les zones naturals. Per tant, ni gas combustible, ni encendre cigarretes està permès.
• No endur-nos res que no ens pertoqui. Ni pedres, ni plantes, ni molt menys fer activitats de caça. Si visitem l’espai, és per gaudir-ne tal com és.

Ètica i civisme, una aposta personal

En definitiva, complir els estàndards prèviament descrits no és més que un acte de civisme que, en cas de no sortir d’un mateix, s’haurà de complir per acatar la regulació vigent. Us recomanem llegir “Educar la convivència. La pràctica del civisme” del filòsof Francesc Torralba, un document breu que aprofundeix i ens fa reflexionar sobre la relació entre civisme i ètica.

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La manca de pluges porta a reduir el subministrament d’aigua a molts municipis del nostre territori. Restriccions que afecten directament a l’agricultura, i en conseqüència, al bestiar. L’increment dels costos de producció i la pèrdua de collites per falta d’aigua tenen un impacte significatiu en l’augment de la inflació. Ens ho explica Sílvia Garriga, agent 11Onze.

L’escalfament del planeta provocat per l’activitat humana ha aguditzat la sequera, un mal endèmic dels països mediterranis. Un fet que queda palès en l’estat de les reserves d’aigua d’aqüífers i pantans del nostre territori. Catalunya acumula mesos de sequera i les reserves aigua han disminuït fins al 33%, gairebé a la meitat de l’any passat.

Les pluges i reserves hídriques són cabdals per a la producció agrícola, i tenen un impacte directe en els preus que paguem per productes al supermercat. Aquesta relació entre sequera i inflació no sempre és evident. Com apunta Garriga, “molts de nosaltres no hem estat conscients dels increments de costos de producció provocats per la sequera”.

A la pujada de costos de l’electricitat, combustible, fertilitzants, i pinsos, s’hi suma la pèrdua de conreus per la falta d’aigua, que deixen al sector agrícola sense marge de benefici. “Si es perden collites per la manca d’aigua, la demanda no disminueix, i s’ha d’importar producte que acabarà sortint més car per al consumidor”, explica Garriga.

Més de 500 municipis amb restriccions en el consum d’aigua

Catalunya està patint la sequera més greu des del 2008, quan les reserves d’aigua dels embasaments i conques internes van caure fins al 20%. Davant d’aquesta situació, l’Agència Catalana de l’Aigua (ACA) s’ha vist obligada a decretar l’alerta per sequera a diverses zones del territori, aprovant limitacions en el consum d’aigua a més de 500 municipis. 

Als 301 que ja es trobaven en fase d’alerta, aquest dimarts s’hi van sumar els més de 100 municipis de les comarques de l’Alt Penedès, l’Anoia, el Baix Llobregat, el Barcelonès, el Garraf, el Maresme, la Selva, el Vallès Oriental i el Vallès Occidental, que subministra la conca del Ter-Llobregat, i també als afectats per l’àmbit d’influència de l’embassament Darnius-Boadella.

Encara que no es preveu que la situació s’agreugi tant com per arribar a l’escenari d’excepcionalitat, moment en el qual les reserves baixen del 25%, tot dependrà de les pluges que puguin entrar durant el que queda de tardor. Els mapes de previsió meteorològica a llarg termini fan pensar que, de novembre a gener, hi haurà més pluja de la normal al litoral i a les comarques de Girona, però menys precipitacions de les habituals al Pirineu occidental.

Si vols descobrir com beure la millor aigua, estalviar diners i ajudar al planeta, entra a Imprescindibles 11Onze.

The European Parliament gives the green light to a strengthened right-to-repair law to reduce waste, make repairs easier, and save consumers money. The new rules will oblige manufacturers to fix a product, even if the legal guarantee has expired.

Finally, the European Parliament approved on 23 April, by an absolute majority with 584 votes in favour, 3 against and 14 abstentions, the directive on the right to repair that it had launched in November 2020. Even so, there are 24 months to apply it, which means that it will only become effective after some time in our country, and it is expected to be incorporated into the future Sustainable Consumption Law.

The new regulation aims to reduce waste, extend the useful life of products and facilitate their repairs to move towards a circular economy and save consumers money. In this sense, it will oblige manufacturers to fix a product, even if it has exhausted its legal guarantee.

In addition, manufacturers will have to offer spare parts and tools at a reasonable price. The use of contractual clauses or IT practices to hinder repairs is prohibited. Specifically, they may not prevent the use of second-hand or 3D-printed parts by independent repairers, nor refuse to repair a product solely on cost grounds or because a third party previously repaired it.

Facilitating repairs at an affordable price

One of the main new features is that the manufacturer will be obliged to repair at a reasonable price and within a reasonable time, even after the end of the warranty period, to encourage consumers to opt for repairing the product rather than buying a new one.

In this respect, the concept of a “quality guarantee” is introduced, whereby the legal guarantee is extended by 12 months if the consumer chooses to have the product repaired. This means that after the expiry of the legal guarantee, the manufacturer will still be obliged to repair common and technically repairable household products, such as washing machines, hoovers and smartphones.

The directive also stipulates that the repair must be carried out free of charge or “at a reasonable price” and within a certain period of time. It even stipulates that the manufacturer may lend a replacement appliance for the duration of the repair. In addition, manufacturers will be obliged to provide spare parts for a minimum of seven to ten years, depending on the product.

These measures are intended to prevent the repair of a product not being feasible, either because of the impossibility of obtaining spare parts or because of the high cost of spare parts. In addition, they are designed to boost the market for reconditioned products as an alternative to new products.

When will it start to be applied in Catalonia?

Once the Council formally adopts the directive, and it has been published in the Official Journal of the EU, member states will have 24 months to transpose it into national law. In Spain, it is expected to be incorporated into the future Sustainable Consumption Law, on which the Ministry of Social Rights, Consumption and Agenda 2030 is already working.

In the case of Catalonia, the general consumer protection law has already included measures to protect consumers’ right to redress for two years. For example, the guarantee covering any manufacturing defect was extended from two to three years.

On the other hand, digital services (e.g. subscriptions to online audiovisual content playback services, cloud storage services, etc.) and digital content (e.g. digitally downloaded music files, video games, etc.) are legally guaranteed for 2 years from the date of delivery.

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In recent years, the belief that our poor email management is highly harmful to the environment has spread out. The latest research relativises its impact and points to other digital habits as responsible for a significant part of global warming.

The book ‘How Bad Are Bananas? The Carbon Footprint of Everything’, published in 2010, popularised the idea that emails have a large carbon footprint. Its author estimated that each message, even if it is just to reply “thank you”, generates a minimum of 0.3 grams of CO₂ due to the energy consumption associated with our devices and, above all, with large data centres. And it should be borne in mind that between 150 billion and 300 billion emails are sent daily around the world, although most of them are ‘spam’.

Some recent research relativises this alleged environmental damage of our messages. Apart from freeing up some space on the servers that host them, there is no evidence that it substantially reduces the energy consumption of the digital infrastructure if we avoid our expendable emails and delete unnecessary ones. 

We very rarely switch on a mobile phone or computer just to send an email and both storage and data transmission systems run relentlessly, even when we are not using them, so energy consumption remains fairly stable.

An updated perspective

With the new estimates, it is estimated that heating water in a kettle requires more electricity than sending and storing a thousand e-mails. And deleting that thousand messages from our inbox would have a carbon benefit of about five grams of CO₂, the minimum our computer would generate in half an hour if we kept it on to delete them. Although it may be hard to comprehend, manually deleting emails can have a greater impact on carbon emissions than storing them.

In fact, the first effective measure to limit the carbon footprint of email is to reduce as much as possible the number of electronic devices we buy to manage it and to keep them as long as possible, as their manufacture generates a significant carbon footprint. 

But above all, safeguarding the environment means using energy-efficient devices and rationalising the time we keep them switched on: we should not forget that part of the electricity we use to power these devices comes from fossil fuels.

The source of excessive traffic

Obviously, avoiding unnecessary emails, writing concisely, including hyperlinks to files rather than attachments, limiting the number of recipients, regularly emptying the ‘spam’ folder and unsubscribing from newsletters that do not really interest us are best practices that will reduce Internet traffic. But if we really want to contribute with our digital habits to the good health of the planet, we should look beyond our e-mail. 

Email exchanges account for only 1% of Internet traffic, which is tiny compared to video streaming services, which already account for more than 80% of what goes online. And that is an appreciable amount of tons of CO₂.

If you want to wash your clothes without polluting the planet, 11Onze Recommends Natulim.

La “mineria urbana”, que consisteix a recuperar i reaprofitar els metalls presents en vehicles, motors, electrodomèstics, bateries i dispositius electrònics, podria cobrir totes les nostres necessitats de metalls com l’or o el coure, sense necessitat d’obrir noves mines. Molts immigrants irregulars, uns 50.000 només a Barcelona, sobreviuen gràcies a aquesta activitat en condicions precàries.

L’elevada demanda d’alguns metalls està provocant l’obertura de noves mines, que són poc sostenibles des d’un punt de vista mediambiental. De fet, la mineria tradicional genera cada any a la Unió Europea 150.000 milions de tones de runam i 12.000 milions de tones de llots. Una alternativa seria potenciar la mineria urbana. Es calcula que, a més de minimitzar la generació de residus, la mesura permetria reduir un 76% la contaminació dels aqüífers i un 40% el consum d’aigua.

Malgrat l’augment de la demanda previst per a les pròximes dècades, un informe d’Ecologistes en Acció adverteix que la mineria urbana bastaria per a cobrir el 100% de les necessitats de metalls com l’or o el coure, i més de la meitat de les de neodimi i níquel. En el cas del cobalt i el liti, la demanda dels quals està creixent exponencialment, la recuperació serviria per a cobrir el 8,3% i el 2,7%, respectivament. No obstant això, gran part d’aquests metalls acaben desaprofitats en abocadors.

Ni pagats ni reconeguts

Tot i que l’or es troba 100 vegades més concentrat en un telèfon mòbil que en les mines de major llei, la recuperació de metalls com aquest es veu frenada per motius econòmics: amb la legislació actual, surt més a compte extreure’ls de les mines que recuperar-los dels aparells rebutjats. I això que part del procés sol fer-se de manera informal.

Només a Barcelona pot haver-hi més de 50.000 persones que cada dia realitzen llargues jornades recollint peces metàl·liques, com explica Federico Demaria, professor d’Economia ecològica i Ecologia política de la Universitat de Barcelona. En molts casos són subsaharians sense papers que no poden regularitzar la seva situació. De fet, l’1 de març se celebra el Dia Mundial del Reciclador pel servei que presten aquest tipus de persones al medi ambient i a la societat de manera precària. Sense ells, gran part de la ferralla acabaria en abocadors.

A diferència d’algunes empreses privades que cobren de l’Administració per recollir, transportar i reciclar aquests materials, aquests recicladors informals contribueixen a l’economia circular sense cap mena d’ajuda. Es limiten a recollir el material metàl·lic de pisos i locals en obres, o el que troben al carrer, per a vendre’l a petites deixalleries legalitzades. Al seu torn, aquestes el canalitzen cap a la indústria recicladora establerta, que mou milers de milions d’euros.

Una vida precària

Un estudi del Gremi de Recuperació de Catalunya calcula que del més de mig milió de tones de residus metàl·lics que es van recuperar a Catalunya l’any 2013, almenys una cinquena part l’havien recollit els recicladors informals.

Fa uns anys l’Ajuntament de Barcelona va impulsar la creació d’Alencop, una cooperativa pionera que va regularitzar la situació d’una trentena d’aquests recicladors informals. Tot i que aquesta iniciativa va haver de baixar la persiana arran de la pandèmia, part de la seva plantilla es va integrar en una empresa privada sense ànim de lucre anomenada Andròmines.

Els seus treballadors es poden considerar uns privilegiats dins d’un col·lectiu que malviu pels carrers de la Ciutat Comtal. I la situació podria empitjorar per a molts d’ells per la seva falta de visibilitat. Cal no oblidar que existeixen grans interessos econòmics entorn de la indústria del reciclatge. Les empreses de gestió de residus, la majoria privades i amb plantilles subrogades, poden moure fitxa per a que el model de recollida s’emmotlli encara més als seus interessos i empenyi una mica més cap als marges als recicladors informals.

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Throughout 2019, 931 million tons of food went to landfill. 11Onze wants to give you some tips to repurpose leftover food cooked at home, always taking into account that, wherever in the world it is cooked, the important thing is to learn to cook repurposing each of the ingredients.

We are all aware of the amount of food that will end up in the rubbish, whether at the same point of sale of the products, in restaurants, or at home.  According to the food waste report made this year by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) together with WRAP, it is estimated that, during 2019, 931 million tons of food was wasted worldwide. The report also states that 11% of waste comes from households, and that, on a global scale, 74 kg of food is thrown away by each household throughout the year. With this amount of food ending up in the rubbish of every household in the world, 11Onze wants to give you some tips on how to repurpose leftover food at home.

Every year, more than 70 kg of food is thrown away in every home in the world

There are thousands of recipes with all kinds of ingredients, thanks to which, with a little imagination, we can repurpose the leftovers of each cooked dish with a few advices that adapt to all kinds of cuisines, because each country has its own cuisine, but we have to know how to repurpose the leftovers of each recipe.

If the dish we cook consists of meat or fish, any recipe will be useful for making good pies, croquettes, or even stuffed aubergines or peppers. If we cook potatoes and we have leftovers, we can use them to make an omelette, an Olivier salad or, for example, a stew. It’s also convenient, when we cook rice, if we make more than needed, to leave it aside without the sauce or the ingredients we want to put in it, so that we can use it for other recipes.

To preserve bread better, as our grandmothers used to do, it is good to keep it covered with a damp cloth: this way, it will not dry so soon. However, if it dries, it can be used to make soups or toasts, or for salads.

It will also be very useful, if we have eggs about to expire, to boil them and use them for soups or salads, or mix them with meat or fish recipes.

And most importantly, let’s not forget to repurpose the fruit that is about to spoil: we can use it to make fruit salads, smoothies, jams, or cakes. In conclusion: the important thing is to reduce the amount of food we end up throwing in the rubbish.

Law against food waste

The volume of food waste in the world is so big and so worrying that governments have had to push for laws to stop it. And, in this sense, the 3/2020 Law of March 11 on prevention of food loss and waste was approved in 2020 in Catalonia. Apart from that, there are different mobile applications where supermarkets and restaurants sell leftover food of the day at very low prices, such as the Too Good To Go app.

There is a lot of work to be done so that food does not end up in the rubbish of every town and city on the planet. 11Onze wants to do its little bit with these tips, wishing that in the very near future, we all act with greater awareness and responsibility against food waste.

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