In the metropolitan area of Barcelona, according to the latest validated data ( Metropolitan Environmental Data 2009 ), 1,606,674 tons of municipal waste have been generated, or what is the same, an average generation of 1.38 kg per capita per day.

Most citizens are unaware of the volume of waste they generate. Usually, once they deposit it in different containers, its destination remain unknown fort them, as well as its subsequent treatment and the cost which represents.

Montcada i Reixac Ecopark

This is the conclusion drawn from the prior work to the implementation of the Life COR project. In October 2008, the EMA Entitat del Medi Ambient commissioned a study to Institut d'Estudis Regionals i Metropolitans de Barcelona ( The Barcelona Institute of Regional and Metropolitan Studies ), an institution linked to the UAB Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona : (Determining factors for the household waste management in the metropolitan area of Barcelona. Attitudes and positioning towards separation and selective collection), in order to better understand the values, attitudes and habits of its target audience in relation to domestic waste and its management and determinants.

When asked about the major environmental problems, citizens do not mention waste. And when they do, they tend to associate it with problems of civic-mindedness or road cleaning.

This ignorance and the continued circulation of rumors and urban legends about the futility of separating the different fractions of household waste because after all they end at the same site, or because it eliminates jobs, are affecting the credibility of the system and also are limiting factors for the increase in selective collections.