Each year, thousands of kilos of wool produced by small-scale Catalan shepherds go unsold and end up being treated as waste. This situation represents both an environmental and economic loss, threatening the continuity of extensive grazing and wasting a resource with multiple potential applications.
To reverse this trend, the Municipality of Tagamanent has launched, with support from the Catalan Waste Agency (ARC) and strategic guidance from Bioboost, a small-scale modular wool washing facility. The plant has been designed to be economically viable, scalable, and replicable in other rural areas with active livestock farming.
This facility enables the recovery of raw wool and its transformation into value-added materials for sectors such as bioconstruction, textile spinning, fertiliser production, and insulation manufacturing. In doing so, it gives new economic meaning to a traditional activity with strong environmental and territorial benefits.
Bioboost’s support
Bioboost has supported the development of the plant through several strategic actions:
- Creation of the Ramat de la Llana Hub, connecting shepherds, businesses, public authorities and technology providers.
- Market and application analysis, identifying high-value uses for processed wool and establishing links with potential industrial off-takers.
- Exploration of public-private governance models, assessing legal structures to ensure efficient and sustainable operations.
- Assessment of innovative financing mechanisms, including ecosystem credit schemes that recognise the environmental value of extensive grazing and offer potential complementary income streams.
- Environmental impact analysis, via a life cycle assessment that demonstrates the comparative benefits of applications such as natural insulation compared to more emission-intensive alternatives.
A project with impact and replicability
The Tagamanent plant is more than just an infrastructure investment — it is a practical example of how bioeconomy principles can be translated into circular, locally embedded and economically sound solutions. By revalorising a traditionally underused resource, the project contributes to:
- Reducing waste and emissions linked to wool disposal.
- Strengthening the viability of extensive grazing systems.
- Diversifying the sources of renewable raw materials available in Catalonia.
- Generating economic activity and employment in rural areas.
- Supporting ecosystem services such as wildfire prevention and habitat conservation.
Full project details are available in the factsheet: