Bizkaia Provincial Government, the Duara Association, Maestro Garazi Rivero School, Eroski, and the surfer Garazi Sánchez to represent the Basque Country in the European Week for Waste Reduction Awards

• These entries have been selected by Ihobe and Elika from among 225 registered actions
• Exceptionally, special recognition has been proposed for Arratiako Udalen Mankomunitatea, the Alava Alliance for Sustainable Development, UPV/EHU and Uvesco, due to the high quality of the entries.
• The Basque Country, coordinated by Ihobe and in conjunction with Elika, supported the European Week for Waste Reduction from 16 to 24 November, at the same time it was held in the different countries of Europe.
• The EWWR, whose slogan was ‘Food, taste it, BUT don't waste it’, sought to raise awareness about food waste and waste management.

Bizkaia Provincial Government, in the Public Administration category; the Duara sustainable innovation agency in Bilbao, in the NGO-Associations category; the Maestro García school (Atxuriko Eskola) of Bilbao, in the Educational Establishment category; the surfer Garazi Sánchez, in the Citizens category; and Eroski, in the Business/Industry category, will represent the Basque Country in the European Week for Waste Reduction Awards, whose prize-giving ceremony will be held in June 2025.

Exceptionally, special recognition in the Basque Country has been proposed for this edition for Arratiako Udalen Mankomunitatea in the Public Administrations category; for the Alava Alliance for Sustainable Development, in the NGO-Associations category; the University of the Basque Country/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea, in the Educational Establishment category, and Uvesco, in the Business/Industry category.

The finalist projects that will represent the Basque Country in Europe have been selected from among the 225 initiatives entered for the Awards of the European Week for Waste Reduction, which was held with the slogan ‘Food, taste it, BUT don't waste it’ from 16 to 24 November 2024. This European Commission initiative, coordinated by Ihobe in the Basque Country, seeks to showcase the actions of the administrations, associations, educational establishments, individuals and businesses as regards waste prevention and recycling. Ihobe has worked with Elika, as food waste was the cornerstone of the edition.

Basque Finalists

Bizkaia Provincial Council is the entry in the Public Administration category for its ‘Bizkaia repairs’ campaign. Promoted by Bizkaia Provincial Government's Department of the Natural Environment and Agriculture, the aim is to prevent waste generation and foster responsible and sustainable consumption, by encouraging products to be repaired rather than purchasing new ones. It is based on an innovative system of exchanging vouchers that offer consumer a €10 discount on repair services costing €20 or over in the establishments in the scheme in Bizkaia.

The Duara Sustainable Development Agency and its ‘From waste to Basque Fashion’ action is the entry to the European Week for Waste Prevention awards in the NGO-Associations category. The action was a contest to find sustainability and creativity in the world of fashion by reusing discarded materials. The project consisted of two phases. The first phase included three regional events in the Basque capitals: Bilbao, Donostia/San Sebastián and Vitoria. In each city, the teams of contestants faced a single challenge: to design a complete look in four hours using discarded materials. During the second phase, the winning teams of each event represented their city in the grand finale.

The Maestro García Rivero (Atxuriko Eskola) School was chosen for its ‘Managing Food Waste’ action, run in the canteen of this school in the Atxuri neighbourhood of Bilbao. The excess food from the school canteen was packed and distributed among the families of school; 1,100 portions of food were distributed that would otherwise have ended up as waste. Even though measures are being taken to reduce food waste at the canteen, this initiative has shown the students the importance of reducing food waste, of using healthy food and looking after the environment.

The surfer Garazi Sánchez will represent the Basque Country in the Citizens Category with his ‘Lotsa-Vergüenza’ action. The double Spanish champion and member of the Basque Team produced and directed ‘Vergüenza’ [Shame], the environmental awareness documentary that addresses the problem of ocean pollution. He has now taken a step further and turned the documentary into educational material, which he is using with schools to raise awareness among the students. The purpose of this project lies in the belief that education and knowledge provide us with the freedom to form opinions and act accordingly. In order to round off the awareness-raising work at the educational centres, the surfer offers surfing master classes with the participating schools and organises a beach clean-up as part of the activity.

Finally, in the Business/Industry category, Eroski will be the entry for the European awards for its ‘Avoiding food waste is the responsibility of all’ action. During the European Week for Waste Reduction in the Basque Country, Eroski conducted different actions, including its campaign to promote ‘ugly fruit and vegetables’ in order to raise awareness among consumers and drive the use of products that may not look aesthetically pleasing, but are perfectly suitable for eating, both in terms of their nutritional properties and their food security; consumers are offered these products at a more competitive price to encourage their purchase and avoid waste.

Special recognition in the Basque Country

Exceptionally for this edition, the Ihobe and Elika assessors have decided to recognise in the Basque Country Arratiako Udalen Mankomunitatea in the Public Administrations category; for the Alava Alliance for Sustainable Development, in the NGO-Associations category; the University of the Basque Country/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea, in the Educational Establishment category, and Uvesco, in the Business/Industry category.

Arratiako Udalen Mankomunitatea has been recognised for its ‘Arratia garbia: elikagaien xahuketarik ez-no to food waste’ action; the Alava Alliance for Sustainable Development, for its ‘Food Waste Day’; the University of the Basque Country/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea, for its ‘Food Waste in the UPV/EHU: measuring to reduce’ project; and Uvesco for the launch of its ‘Reducing waste throughout the value chain’ programme.