Technological innovation is the answer to the environmental challenge of achieving maximum efficiency and sustainability in the use of water, an essential premise in a context of global scarcity of natural resources.
The professor at the University of Ghent and member of the Steering Committee of the International Water Association (IWA), Willy Verstraete, shared with AINIA’s Director of Technologies, Begoña Ruiz, his concerns about the need to recover water resources and establish real circularity criteria that bring new opportunities to industry and increase the sustainability of the economy. In this regard, Verstraete cites as examples the recovery of household water or the obtainment of bioproducts (proteins, active ingredients…) that provide new market opportunities.
According to Willy Verstraete, although significant technical progress has been made in this area, European regulation is still very restrictive. It is therefore necessary for society to become aware of the benefits that circularity brings to sustainability, so that these processes can be effectively implemented.
In Professor Verstraete’s opinion, we must rethink the current production model in order to develop sustainable processes with a lower impact on the planet.
