A Coruña, 13th of March 2024.- The Epifanio Campo Chair reaffirms one more year its commitment to the promotion of dissemination and training in the field of circular economy and industrial waste management. In the annual balance of activities we can highlight such remarkable events as the award ceremony of the I Epifanio Campo Scientific Dissemination Award, the announcement and presentation of the II Epifanio Campo Research Awards or the participation in the I Galician Inter-University Conference on Teaching Innovation.
In 2019, the University of A Coruña and the Rodonita Group signed a collaboration agreement for the development of the Epifanio Campo Chair, attached to the Polytechnic School of Engineering of Ferrol, located in the Industrial Campus of Ferrol of the University of A Coruña. Its field of action is the environment, waste management and sustainability. Since then, the objectives of the chair have been focused on promoting all types of training, dissemination, research and knowledge transfer activities related to environmental management.
The activities carried out by the Chair throughout 2023 involved a total of 185 participants, including applicants and members of the research and dissemination awards, assistants, course management and teaching staff, students, as well as members of the committee, authorities and participants in the award ceremonies.
One of the most representative moments this year was the celebration of the II Edition of the Epifanio Campo Research Awards for research projects related to the treatment and management of industrial waste. In this second edition, 9 applications were submitted, 2 individuals and 7 groups, by a total of 38 researchers belonging to 10 research groups from the Coruña and Ferrol campuses of the University of A Coruña linked to different fields. The first prize was awarded to the work entitled “Industrial WAstes in Bltuminous MIXes (IWABIMIX)”, which presents the possibility of using various types of industrial waste as an alternative raw material in the manufacture of materials for paving roads and other infrastructures. The second prize went to the work “Valorisation of waste and obtaining bioplastics”, which consists of using bacteria to produce plastics and other chemical products from waste such as milk whey, sewage sludge or algae.
As part of the training and dissemination activities developed by the Chair to promote the exchange of experiences in the fields of teaching, research and scientific dissemination between the Rodonita Group and the University of A Coruña, the visit to the SOGARISA facilities by students of Environmental Engineering from the Polytechnic School of Engineering in Ferrol also stood out, where the students were able to see how the treatment and management of waste generated by industrial activity is carried out safely and effectively.
In the same vein, in July, the “Curso de Xestor de Residuos: a green professional activity” was held with the aim of introducing students to the basic knowledge and skills required in the field of industrial waste management. Four days of intense training and exchange of experiences at the Polytechnic School of Engineering in Ferrol, with a practical approach that ended with a visit to the CTRIG facilities.
In its eagerness to support training, this year the Chair was also one of the sponsors of the 1st Galician Inter-University Conference on Teaching Innovation, organised by the UDC, the USC and the UVigo with the aim of bringing together teachers from all over the Galician University System to improve university teaching and strengthen teaching innovation networks.
The Industrial Waste Interpretation Centre was another important milestone in the activity of the Chair in 2023. In May, the UDC tendered the drafting of the basic and execution project of the new Research and Innovation Building in Industry (EI3), in the Industrial Campus of Ferrol, where the Industrial Waste Interpretation Centre (CIRI) will be located. The ambitious proposal is based on opening up the Ferrol Campus as a connection between the campus and the city, in order to give continuity to the urban space within it.
Among the proposals of the Epifanio Campo Chair for this year 2024 are the organisation of a new edition of the waste manager course and the II Epifanio Campo Scientific Dissemination Awards, as well as continuing to promote student visits to Sogarisa or PMA, collaborations for dissemination and research purposes and the activation of a postgraduate course at the UDC.
RODONITA Environment
RODONITA is the parent company of a holding company made up of multiple companies and with a wide presence and implementation in various sectors such as energy, environment and waste, as well as construction materials, hospitality, viticulture, aquaculture and the service sector. The Group’s environmental division is led by the companies PMA, SOGARISA and CONTECO, which specialise in integrated waste management and environmental services. They form a competitive, dynamic and socially responsible business group, capable of gaining size and implantation and reinforcing its position in the national market.
PMA (Protección Medio Ambiental, SL), which began its activity in 1991, specialises in the itinerant and capillary collection of waste from the industrial sector and automotive workshops. On the other hand, SOGARISA (UTE PMA – CONTECO), is the concessionaire of the exploitation of CTRIG (Centro de Tratamento de Residuos Industriais de Galicia), a public infrastructure owned by the Xunta de Galicia, located in the Polígono das Somozas and a national reference in the treatment and elimination of hazardous industrial waste. Finally, CONTECO (Contenedores da Coruña), a company from A Coruña founded in 1985, specialises in the collection, transport and integrated management of construction and demolition waste and non-perishable industrial waste.
