Let’s discover the three finalists of the Association / NGO category!

• Curses contra els residus (Races against Waste) implemented by SETEM Catalunya Association,
  in Barcelona and Rubí;

In 2023, the Races Against Waste began in Catalonia with support from SETEM. Originating from the Dutch organization Races Against Waste, these races have occurred in various European schools, including those in the Netherlands, Germany, and France. In Barcelona, a Textile Race took place, and an Electronic Race in Rubí, involving students from 8 schools in each locality. They competed to create the most positive impact through awareness campaigns and selective waste collection, promoting responsible waste prevention practices. Two websites were created for textile and electronic devices, where students scheduled appointments to collect products from people’s homes. Before collection, students attended workshops inspired by SETEM’s “Clean Clothes” and “Fair Electronics” campaigns, gaining practical knowledge about the social and environmental impacts of production chains, enhancing their engagement and understanding.

• NIRN Podcast Series implemented by Northern Ireland Resources Network;

NIRN’s podcast series, Sustainable Conversations, released a new episode during EWWR, featuring interviews with various organizations to highlight packaging challenges and efforts in Northern Ireland to reduce packaging waste. The six episodes included interviews with:

• Department for Economy
• Department for Agriculture
• A local council
• Ulster University
• Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful (KNIB)
• A local community group

These episodes, available on Spotify, offer in-depth discussions and valuable insights, and remain accessible beyond their release week. NIRN continues to promote these interviews via social media and other platforms. Each interview ended with a question about reducing packaging waste, encouraging listeners to reflect and take action.

Discover the podcast here: https://open.spotify.com

• Recovery, awareness and reduction of mobile and tablet consumption in the « Mobile phones
  for Earth » campaign by NGO Alboan implemented by Alboan ONG Fundazioa, in Bilbao.

“Conflict-Free Technology” is an initiative by Alboan to highlight the link between natural resource exploitation, human rights violations, environmental degradation, and everyday technology. Coltan and gold are particularly problematic in the extraction and marketing process for electronic devices. The “Mobile Phones for Earth” campaign collects unused mobiles and tablets for donation. These devices are treated at authorized WEEE facilities reconditioned for the second-hand market if possible and scrapped to recover metals and components if not functional.

The campaign aims to:
a) Promote responsible consumption.
b) Recover technological metals
c) Fund humanitarian projects in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Colombia.
d) Reduce environmental impact by minimizing mineral extraction and pollution from uncontrolled landfill disposal.

The jury member of this category is Andrea González, European Environmental Bureau (EEB).