Emmanuel Agüero, Mojácar Council’s Tourism Councillor, has received from the Secretary of State for the Environment, Hugo Morán, the Ecovidrio 2021 Green Flag, which recognises the locality as the most sustainable municipality in the whole of Spain.

This official presentation of the eight green flags presented throughout the national territory, and celebrated in Madrid, was the culmination of an intense campaign over the summer in touristy areas of Spain, and whose main objective was to boost the recovery of glass packaging for recycling in high season and the recognition of the recycling efforts of the local hospitality sector, as well as encouraging the activism of local authorities in publicising the importance of recycling among their residents.

Mojácar was the locality which achieved first position, managing to recycle nearly 70,000 kilos of glass between July and August. In the 2021 campaign, 127 local councils in up to five autonomous communities and up to 14,000 hospitality sector establishments have opted for one of these Green Flags. In Andalucía alone, 41 municipalities fought for this award.

Hugo Morán, Secretary of State for the Environment, wanted to congratulate Mojácar and Almeria, ranked second, for their green flags: “a goal of excellence which symbolises the recognition of a job well done.”

For the Secretary of State, the culmination of the circular economy requires the commitment of the whole of society, both citizens and public administrations, institutions and collectives.

Ecovidrio is the non-profit entity in charge of managing the recycling of glass packaging waste in our country. The recycling of glass containers is a key element in the struggle against climate change and the acceleration of a circular economy model.

Thanks to the Green Flags movement, 31,045 tonnes of glass packaging has been collected, the subsequent recycling of which has managed to avoid the emission of 17,700 tonnes of CO2, the same as taking 8,000 cars out of circulation for a year; avoiding the extraction of 36,770 tonnes of primary materials, equivalent to nearly four times the weight of the Eiffel Tower and saving 21,885 MWh of energy.