The Government of the Region of Murcia, Ecoembes and the Federation of Municipalities, present the 2022 Recycling Awards in their sixth edition at a meeting with the mayors of the three winning municipalities
Abarán has won first prize for the sixth consecutive time thanks to each of its inhabitants depositing 29,7kg of plastic containers, cans and cartons in the yellow container. Beniel and Campos del Río have won second and third prize respectively.
Last year, the residents of Abarán were the ones who deposited the most plastic containers, cans and cartons in the yellow container, making this municipality the one that recycles the most in the entire Region of Murcia for the sixth consecutive year. Specifically, each of its inhabitants deposited 29,7 kilos of these containers in the yellow container. Meanwhile, the municipalities of Beniel and Los Campos del Río have also been awarded for their environmental awareness by increasing the use of the yellow containers that they have at their disposal in the streets.
The awards ceremony was held in Campos del Río, the municipality that won the 3rd prize for having achieved the greatest increase in the collection of packaging during 2022 compared to 2021. The mayors of these three Murcian municipalities were present, who received the awards from the Director General of the Environment, Francisco Marín; the president of the Federation of Municipalities of the Region of Murcia, Mª Dolores Muñoz and the manager of Local and Autonomous Management of Ecoembes for the Region of Murcia, Juan Carlos Arranz.
These awards are part of the “Recycling Awards” initiative, jointly organised by the Government of the Region of Murcia through the General Directorate of the Environment, Ecoembes and the Federation of Municipalities of the Region of Murcia.
The competition, which was broadcast last year in different waves on radio stations with coverage in the Region of Murcia, in the main regional digital press headlines and on social networks, was part of the regional citizen awareness campaign “El Mundo”. A campaign whose objective is to show the relevant role that packaging recycling plays within the circular economy, to mobilize citizens to deposit in the yellow containers the plastic containers, cans and cartons that they consume on a daily basis.
In previous editions, these awards have contributed to the launching of projects for the enjoyment of the residents of these municipalities, such as the improvement of children's playgrounds, the incorporation of bio-healthy devices to promote exercise among the elderly, or projects aimed at optimising the selective collection of containers.
Francisco Marín, Director General of the Environment, commented that “We need to move towards a greater commitment to climate ambition, in line with the European Union Policies embodied in the European Green Deal. This means applying circularity to our daily lives, reducing the waste we generate and of course committing to selective collection, in this case in packaging, which if we abandon them in our environment will end up affecting our seas and oceans.".
For her part, Mª Dolores Muñoz, president of the Federation of Municipalities of the Region of Murcia, has valued this initiative, highlighting the importance of: “Greater involvement of citizens in the separation of waste and, above all, the need for co-governance and public-private alliances to tackle the new challenges that municipalities face in terms of waste and packaging.".
To these words, Juan Carlos Arranz, manager of Local and Autonomous Management of Ecoembes for the Region of Murcia, added that “Murcians are recycling more and better every year, and once again these awards prove it. Recycling is a simple gesture with great benefits for the environment. That is why, at Ecoembes, we encourage residents to continue recycling to contribute to evolving towards a circular economy model.".
Through these awards, which are already well established in the Region of Murcia, awareness is still being raised among Murcians to ensure that household packaging is recycled more and better, thus contributing to the reduction of environmental impact and a firm commitment to the circular economy in the Murcia region.
