MERCADEA: EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVE FOR SUSTAINABILITY IN MUNICIPAL MARKETS

2024/11/22

In its commitment to sustainability, the City Council has launched "Mercadea", an innovative educational intervention promoted by the Department of Environmental Education. This programme is deployed in municipal markets to promote responsible consumption and waste management habits, targeting both traders and, as a priority, customers.

Each Mercadea day begins early in the morning with a brief presentation for merchants, outlining the objectives of the initiative and detailing the resources that will be made available to attendees. From that moment on, three environmental education experts are responsible for setting up an information table in the market and serving visitors with educational material and practical advice.

The program focuses on three main areas:

• Waste Reduction : Mercadea encourages the reduction of organic and plastic waste in the market, promoting sustainable alternatives in daily purchases.
• Promoting Sustainable and Seasonal Food : Information is provided on the benefits of a diet based on local and seasonal products, both for health and the environment.
• Waste Separation : Professionals place special emphasis on the correct separation of waste, especially organic waste, vegetable oil and textiles.

To reinforce the sustainability message, Mercadea staff provide visitors with reusable bags for fruit and vegetables, containers for organic waste and information leaflets. These leaflets include healthy and economical menus and recipes, information on free environmental activities and waste separation guides so that citizens can apply this knowledge in their daily lives.

With Mercadea, the City Council reinforces its commitment to environmental education and contributes to the development of sustainable municipal markets, promoting ecological responsibility and the active participation of citizens in protecting the environment.

You can check the authorized clothing containers of the Madrid City Council at this link.

And in this next link, the containers for used vegetable oil .

In addition, these are the expected dates when markets will have containers for the public:

If you need more information, download this document .