The four have been shortlisted in the Educational Establishment, Associations, Public Administration and Business categories, respectively

The candidates were announced today by Arantxa Tapia, the Basque Government's Minister for Economic Development, Sustainability and the Environment, at a recognition event held as part of the 2023 European Week for Waste Reduction of the Basque Country.

Each year around 18,000 actions are submitted for these European awards, from which the best are selected. In this year's edition, 190 actions have been presented in the Basque Country, from which the following candidatures have been selected
Axular Lizeoa is entering its 'De tapones a jardineras verticale' [From Lids to Vertical Planters] project, which has consisted of collecting lids, awareness-raising and making products with the reused plastic, which range from carabiners to ropes and flowerpots that have used to make vertical planters to decorate the school. The main goal is to raise critical awareness about the problem of waste and provide tools to be able to improve the current situation.

Alboan and its 'Móviles por la Tierra' [Mobiles for the Earth] campaign are the Basque entry in the Associations category of the European Week for Waste Reduction awards. The campaign, which has been running for nearly a decade, is a project for awareness-raising, systematic recovery of and reducing consumption of mobile telephones; tablets and mobiles that are no longer used are refurbished for their subsequent sale or are sent to authorised managers for the recovery of metals, particularly gold, and other components.

Vitoria-Gasteiz City Council will represent the Basque Country in the Public Administrations category for being the driving force behind the 'Reutilizagune' centre; the initiative is focused on reusing discarded items and articles in good condition that can be used by other people that need them. The centre has a Repair Café to encourage the repair culture. Each year, Reutilizagune organises several off-site thematic events in order to showcase the service and encourage the general public to take part. This year, it has distributed toys, small items of furniture and used books.

Finally, Bizislow will be the entry in the Business category in Europe. It is a small business that supplies eco-sustainable detergents in bulk so that people reuse their own containers. They also reuse larger containers as they return them to be sent to the factory to be disinfected and then used again.

Since the Basque Country has taken part in the awards, 4 organisations have won their category (Seur, Iparragirre Ikastola, IMQ Zorrozaurre and St George´s British International School) and 6 have been finalists (Basque Food Bank, CEIP Mendiko Eskola HLHI, Uvesco (2), Bizkaia Regional Government, and Axular Lizeoa).

25 most innovative actions

During the candidate recognition event, the 25 actuaciones relevantes de la Semana Europea de Prevención de los residuos "25 Top Actions of the European Week for Waste Reduction" publication, which features the 25 best actions as part of this initiative since 2011, was presented.

The publication seeks to disseminate the value of those actions so they can be replicated by other organisations of the Basque Country. There have been more than a thousand other actions in addition to those 25 since 2011 and which have served to pursue the commitment to sustainability.