On 19 January 2022 the official presentation of the Action Plan for the Competitiveness of Reuse Centres in Catalonia (R-Pla) took place (118 people attended the live presentation), thanks to the participation of the Waste Agency of Catalonia (ARC) in the European Interreg SUBTRACT project.

The Plan is coordinated by the ARC, and the 39 member organisations of the Catalan Strategic Stakeholders (CEC), made up of organisations from the public, private, civil and academic sectors, have participated in its drafting. It aims to increase the economic sustainability and competitiveness of small and medium-sized organisations in the reuse and/or preparation for reuse sector. This improvement in the competitiveness of reuse centres will result in a significant quantitative increase in R and PxR in Catalonia.

The Plan responds to current needs and the new way of life, giving importance to encouraging and promoting the reuse and/or preparation for reuse of objects of different types, such as mobile and computer devices, textiles and bulky items, and placing the emphasis on online platforms for buying and selling, exchange or lending.

The Catalan action plan includes the actions validated by the Interreg programme but also other strategic actions that have emerged thanks to the CEC's participation in the project. In total there are 18 actions and 80 projects led by members of the CEC. All of them fall into 5 strategic lines: knowledge, communication, reuse and preparation for reuse, regulatory and economic field and governance.

These projects will be implemented during 2022 with the aim of transforming second-hand product shops and stores into environmentally and economically viable businesses.