Consorci per al tractament de residus sòlids urbans del Maresme

Definition of the project

Recently, the Consorci has promoted a series of actions financed by Generalitat de Catalunya which have led to the creation of the new Centre Integral de Valorització de Residus del Maresme (Maresme Integrated Centre for Waste Recovery). This is a facility of reference and makes the Maresme area a leader in waste management.

In fact, however, this is part of the third generation of facilities managed by the Consorci:

First Generation: 1985

Due to the closure of the landfill in the city of Mataró in the 80’s, the city council was faced with the need to provide some alternative treatment system in order to solve the need to manage municipal waste.

This is how Mataró became the head of the Consorci per al Tractament de Residus Sòlids Urbans del Maresme, which grouped together, in its first stage, 17 towns of the Maresme area plus the Diputació de Barcelona.
Technically, the chosen solution was the implementation of a Planta de Reciclatge i Compostatge (Recycling and Composting Plant), which was then a pioneering type of facility. The objective of the plant was to select the recoverable subproducts and to compost organic matter in order to market it as organic fertilizer –compost–.

Second Generation: 1994

At the same time, the Planta de Reciclatge i Compostatge started working, there was a period of strong economic growth, so that the generation of waste in the area increased 5% yearly between 1985 and 1990.

These circumstances, together with the legislation and environmental awareness, contributed to the fact that most of the remaining towns in the Maresme area, as well as the Consell Comarcal del Maresme, applied for membership of the Consorci, which now was formed by 27 towns, plus the Diputació de Barcelona and the Consell Comarcal del Maresme.

This increase forced the enlargement of the plant’s capacity and, at the same time, the solution of the operation issues encountered up to that moment.

This is when the need to enable the energy recovery of the combustible fraction sent to the landfill up to then became obvious, and, therefore, the need to build the new Waste to Energy Plant.

The combination of the existing Planta de Reciclatge i Compostatge, plus the newly built Planta Incineradora was called Centre Integral de Valorització de Residus del Maresme (Maresme Integrated Centre for Wast Recovery) opened on November 12, 1994.

Third Generation: 2010

The new Centre Integral de Valorització de Residus del Maresme is framed within the Pla territorial sectorial d’infraestructures de gestió de residus municipals (Land sectorial plan of infrastructures for the management of municipal waste), approved by the decree Decret 16/2010, of February 16, of Generalitat de Catalunya.

The new Centre includes different facilities for waste treatment: a MBT plant for the mixed waste fraction (mixed waste still containing recoverable materials), a treatment line for bulky waste (sofas, furniture, etc.), transfer stations of the different fractions collected separately (organic matter, glass, packaging, and paper and cardboard), and the already existing facility of energy recovery with improvements. The Centre, therefore, ensures the maximum reclamation and recovery of the municipal waste in the Maresme area.