In a firm commitment to optimising recycling processes, CLD, Sorigué’s environmental services, is bolstering its waste recovery business for the province of Barcelona with the acquisition and modernisation of an old plant located in Barberà del Vallès.

The infrastructure, which was in operation from 1996 as a waste selection and transfer plant, will be equipped, among other improvements, with an automated triage line that will improve the material sorting system and the waste recovery rate. This will consequently reduce the amount of rejected materials going to landfill or incineration. A highly effective process that guarantees its customers a high recovery rate with lower CO2 production associated with their waste.

These new facilities will benefit industries in the two counties in El Vallès and the large generators that are not included in the municipal waste pickup service such as hotels, supermarkets and shopping centres, among others. The facility will be fully operational from this summer. 

“Offering waste recovery from our own plant is a further step in our deployment in the entire business cycle of environmental services. We are more present in the value chain, providing a differential service to our customers,” says Xavier Garcia del Río, director of CLD. 

Materials such as paper, cardboard, plastic, metal, glass, wood and textiles will go through a complete sorting process involving different separation systems: volumetric and densimetric for different types of materials; mobile screens for organic matter; optical screens for recovering different types of plastics; an electromagnet and inductive separator for metals. 

The proximity of this plant to production centres will reduce their carbon footprint, both in the transport of waste and in the return of separated materials to centres that consume raw materials such as the steel, paper and plastics industries, among others. 

The energy efficiency of the new facilities will be guaranteed by a roof equipped with solar panels that will supply part of the electrical energy necessary for their operation. 

The lower CO2 production throughout the recovery cycle, thanks to the high material recovery rate and the use of solar panels, will contribute to reducing the overall environmental impact in these regions of Barcelona.

For CLD, this acquisition represents a milestone in its business. The industrial transformation of the old site, which once housed a textile factory in the late 19th century, is set to become an infrastructure compatible with the environmental challenges of both the present and future, and to convert local waste into recycled raw materials within the parameters of the circular economy. 

CLD, over 90 years of history

CLD executes environmental services contracts in more than 50 municipalities in Catalonia and Andorra, serving a population of over one million people, making it one of the leading companies in its sector in Catalonia. The company offers street cleaning and waste pickup services to public administrations, as well as specialised services to industry, and waste management and treatment.

CLD will soon start the waste pickup and street cleaning contract in the western area of Barcelona, which includes the districts of Sants-Montjuïc, Les Corts and Sarrià-Sant Gervasi. This new service, which will come into operation in Q3 2022, will entail an investment of around EUR 65 million by the company to expand its own resources. It is also estimated that the current workforce of more than 1,000 people will be increased by 500 employees. 

This contract will provide continuity to the services that CLD has been providing to the city of Barcelona since 1930. Since 2009, it has been responsible for waste pickup and street cleaning in the northern part of Barcelona, which encompasses the Nou Barris and Horta-Guinardó districts. 

CLD is a Sorigué company, a leader in the construction sector, city services and the water cycle, with a firm commitment to innovation, the circular economy and giving back to society.