Success of the "Give life to your mask" initiative carried out at the end of May in 24 office buildings in Madrid and Barcelona.
Cushman & Wakefield has collected more than 63,500 masks as a result of its circular economy campaign "Dale vida a tu mascarilla", an initiative that the consultancy promoted at the end of May together with reciclamascarillas.com with the aim of converting single-use masks into eco-fuel. The 63,500 masks collected, equivalent to 127 kg, were obtained during the last days of May, and will be converted into 135 litres of eco-fuel.
The collected masks will undergo advanced high-temperature treatment, resulting in a wide range of eco-fuels and pyrolysis oils with low sulphur levels and a quality close to that of diesel and gasoline, allowing them to be used as marine fuels and late-stage blending products for refineries.
The action, which took place in 24 buildings in Madrid and Barcelona between 17-31 May, involved around 35,000 users of these buildings and highlighted the importance of raising awareness of recycling this type of waste and residues. Each mask contains 2 grams of plastic and around 75% of used masks, according to the consultancy, will end up in landfills or floating in the sea. This negatively affects the fishing and tourism industries and costs the global economy some 13 billion dollars (almost 11 billion euros).
According to David Perez, Customer Experience Coordinator at Cushman & Wakefield Spain, "in a year in which the pandemic has been the main protagonist, we could not forget about other side effects that it is bringing, such as the waste of masks. We are very proud to launch a campaign that, from start to finish, is respectful and beneficial to the environment, eliminating this waste and obtaining a product with great added value. We are also very pleased with the response from our clients, as in 90% of our buildings, the service is going to be maintained."
Cushman & Wakefield is a pioneer in this type of initiative, thanks to which large investment fund managers collaborate to introduce a positive impact in the real estate sector. The company has a long track record in terms of sustainability and commitment to both society and the environment.
