A European project lead by BETA Technological Center is promoting new models of urban organic waste management in the Mediterranean region

Cities in the Mediterranean region have been facing a gradual increase and concentration in their population and an increase in construction and tourism for decades. The limits on growth that these urban environments have to cope with means that appropriate waste management is crucial in guaranteeing a healthy living environment. Almost 4 million tonnes of waste are generated in Catalonia alone, of which more than a third is organic waste. In this context, the scientific research project DECOST (Decentralized Composting in Small to medium Towns) is developing a new municipal management framework for organic waste for small and medium-sized towns in the Mediterranean region over three years.

The aim is to create closed and decentralised systems for community and domestic composting, with municipalities and residents playing a key role in the recovery and output of organic waste by means of urban agriculture projects, improving the current collection percentages for the organic fraction. Only between 33% and 36% of the organic waste generated in Catalonia is currently selectively collected. The project is being coordinated by the BETA Technological Center (Biodiversity, Ecology and Environmental and Food Technology) at the University of Vic - Central University of Catalonia (UVic-UCC), and is funded by the European Union through the ENI CBC Mediterranean Sea Basin Programme cooperation programme, which is contributing 2.7 million Euros (ME), or 90% of the total budget, which amounts to 3.1 million Euros.

Eight partners from six countries and four pilot tests

A total of eight partners are participating in DECOST, including universities, research centres and government agencies from six different countries in the Mediterranean region. Apart from the CT BETA, the consortium includes the Marche Polytechnic University and the Ente di Governo Rifiuti e Risorse Idriche Basilicata in Italy,  the University of Patras, in Greece,  the Irbid Agriculture Directorate and the Jordan University of Science and Technology in Jordan,  the Galilee Society (Arab National Society for Health Research and Services) in Israel, and the Palestine Technical University Kadoorie in Palestine.Waste agencies and municipalities in the various participating countries are also involved in the project, and according to Joan Colón, the lead researcher in DECOST, "they make up an international and multidisciplinary team that provides both technical knowledge and knowledge of the local level of governance processes." In more specific terms, one of the challenges facing DECOST is to implement the various demonstration experiments or pilot tests for the recovery of municipal organic waste that will take place in Spain, Italy, Jordan and Palestine. They will all be based on implementing new community and domestic composting systems for municipal organic waste.
Two of these pilot tests will be carried out directly by researchers at the BETA Technological Center, and will take place in the Osona region. The first is in the municipality of Les Masies de Roda, where the DECOST project will involve a system of community composters all over the municipality to treat all the organic waste produced there, complementing the transition from the current system to a door to door system.

The second project will also test a system for treatment of the green fraction in the Sant Llàtzer i Quatre Estacions neighbourhood in Vic based on community composting, with the objective of meeting the neighbourhood's current needs while providing new solutions for other neighbourhoods with similar urban characteristics.

Recovering up to 2,000 tons of organic waste each year

With the new system, the researchers expect to reduce organic waste and recover between 1,500 and 2,000 tonnes per year (between 350 and 500 tonnes per year in each pilot test). The DECOST technical teams will be working in tandem to carry out urban agriculture projects that can use the compost generated. Training will also be provided for staff of government agencies, and computer tools and mobile applications will be used to increase citizens' knowledge and commitment to waste management.

In the long term, says Colón, "it is a question of achieving intelligent, sustainable and inclusive urban development, which is at the same time adapted to circumstances in the cities of both the north and the south of the Mediterranean region." According to the project's lead researcher, "environmentally and economically viable waste planning will only be feasible if it incorporates the social perspective and adopts a people-centred approach, empowering civil society and increasing the capacity for institutional creation." Finally, the aim is to ensure that the four demonstration experiences can be reproduced in other municipalities in the Mediterranean at the end of the project.

About the BETA Technological Center

The BETA Technological Center at the UVic-UCC BETA aims to improve and promote the competitiveness and technological capabilities of companies, public bodies and other institutions by undertaking collaborative R&D projects. Its main areas of expertise are green technologies, ecology and biodiversity, agrifood industries and sustainability. The CT BETA is a member of TECNIO, the network run and supported by the Government of Catalonia, made up of technological centres of excellence and with high quality standards (in terms of development and transfer of technologies and capacity for innovation) in Catalonia.

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This document has been produced with the financial support of the European Union within the framework of the ENI CBC Mediterranean Sea Basin Programme. The Technological Center for Biodiversity, Ecology, Environmental Technology and Food Management (BETA TC) of the University of Vic - Central University of Catalonia (UVic-UCC) is solely responsible for the contents of this document, which does not in any way reflect the position of the European Union or the programme's management structures.

(Foto: Investigadors de diversos països en el llançament del projecte DECOST a Vic l'octubre de 2019)