There is an organic waste that has the power to change lives. Specifically, those of eight Galician women. A “miracle” to which Repsol now also contributes, which has placed in the hands of Mulleres Colleiteiras, a social cooperative for the labor inclusion of Roma women, the management of used cooking oil collected at 176 of its service stations (soon there will be 185 ) in Galicia. The consequence is a second life for a 100% usable waste that also becomes a second opportunity for these women at risk of social vulnerability.
“A bad decision in my life was to stop studying and, later, I became a very young mother, at 23 years old. I decided to get divorced at 36 and that’s when I had to moonlight because the jobs I had didn’t allow me to pay rent and live a life with my daughter. Mulleres Colleiteiras changed my life,” says Sofía Vázquez, one of the women who works in the social cooperative.
Now, thanks to the agreement signed between Mulleres Colleiteiras and Repsol, Sofía, together with her colleagues, visits the company’s service stations in Galicia, collecting every day with her van the bottles and jugs of up to 5 liters of used cooking oil deposited by the clients. For the proper management of the oil, they have the ISCC EU certification, which guarantees the traceability and sustainability of the waste, which they also collect from bars, restaurants and hotels – the so-called Horeca channel -, as well as shopping centers and urban deposit points.
After treatment, Repsol will convert the oil into a renewable fuel that reduces emissions from land, air and maritime transport. One liter of used cooking oil produces 0.9 liters of this type of fuel. Currently, current gasoline and diesel fuel contains 10% renewable fuel by law. In addition, the company has fifty stations that supply 100% renewable fuel in the Iberian Peninsula. In Galicia, the Coirós station does it and, soon, the second in Vigo.
With this initiative, which Repsol has launched in the Galician community after starting it in Madrid in April, service station users have within their reach the sustainable management of household waste that can be given a second life. and that is already helping to change the lives of a group of women. “Mulleres Colleiteiras means economic stability, training, and quality time with my daughter for me. Here we are a family and, right now, we are references for many other women, not only gypsies but from the world,” celebrates Sofía.
