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WHAT IS MEANT BY A BY-PRODUCT? By-product here refers to a waste product that is re-used as a substitute for a commercial product or raw material in a different production process, when doing so does not entail the need for substantial processing before re-use. Using by-products as a raw material brings lower input costs in production processes, and in addition this way of managing waste as by-products also reduces waste disposal costs and the environmental impact of waste products. The legal framework for by-products in this sense is only operative in Catalonia, though companies in Spain's other Autonomous Communities can exchange waste products when they have the consent of their own environmental authorities. In Catalan legislation, article 29 of Decree 93/1999 of 6 April on Waste-Management Procedures defines the legal framework for by-products in this sense, and makes provisions for managing waste products as by-products. The Catalan Recycling Centre (Centre
Català de Reciclatge), working under the Waste Board (Agència
de Residus), is the body with authority to decide whether waste products
may be declared as by-products in the annual statements on industrial
waste. The By-Product Exchange of Catalonia (Borsa de Subproductes de Catalunya - BSC) is a free service aimed at boosting the re-use of waste as far as possible, promoting recycling, and providing companies with a tool for cutting their costs and improving their competitiveness by reducing their expenditure on raw materials and on waste management. For this purpose, the BSC runs a database with particulars of BSC-registered companies offering or looking for waste for re-use as raw materials in production processes. These 'For-Sale' and 'Wanted' notices appear as advertisements in the BSC's bulletin and website. There
are other by-product exchanges in Spain run by various Chamber-of-Commerce
bodies; each of these can be consulted on an individual basis. The first By-Product Exchange - BORSA DE SUBPRODUCTES
DE CATALUNYA - was set up in 1990 at the instigation of the thirteen
Chambers of Commerce in the Council of Chambers of Commerce, Industry
and Navigation of Catalonia. In 1991, Law 2/91 of 18 March on Urgent
Measures for Reducing and Managing Industrial Waste commissioned the
Autonomous Government's Waste Board (Agència de Residus) to set up an
exchange for managing waste. The coming together of these two moves
led the Waste Board and the Catalan Chambers of Commerce to sign an
agreement in December 1991 on developing a tool for boosting the re-use
of waste: the Waste Exchange (Borsa de Subproductes). The Council of
the Chambers of Commerce of Catalonia and the Waste Board jointly finance
and supervise the activities of the Exchange. All the For-Sale and Wanted notices posted by the
BSC are coded to prevent public access to particulars of the companies
placing advertisements. This approved coding system is in line with
the systems used in other by-product and waste exchanges in Spain and
the European Union. The BSC provides basic access data
on the advertising companies to companies expressing interest in the
advertisements only when the interested companies are also registered
with the Exchange. The Exchange Secretariat, the Chambers of Commerce
and the bodies concerned decline all responsibility for the condition
of the materials advertised and for the destiny intended for the waste
by the advertisers, proper management and handling of the waste being
the responsibility of its owner in all cases. Any company generating or managing waste that could
incorporate waste of some kind as a raw material in production processes. Companies must be registered with
the BSC in order to be able to: Hence contact
through the BSC is only arranged between BSC-registered companies. Placing
For-Sale and Wanted advertisements How
can advertising companies be contacted? Only BSC-registered
companies can obtain the contact information. Technical
forums organised by the BSC In order to improve its service, the By-Product Exchange has changed its computer system to achieve greater efficiency in management and to speed up information exchange. Among other advantages,
the new system will enable: Borsa de Subproductes de Catalunya  |
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