European project led by the BETA Technological Center promotes new models of urban organic waste management in the Mediterranean arc

Over the past few decades, cities in the Mediterranean arc have been experiencing progressive population growth and concentration and an increase in construction and tourism. The limits to growth faced by these urban environments means that proper waste management is key to guaranteeing a healthy living environment. In Catalonia alone, almost 4 million tonnes of waste are generated, of which more than a third is organic waste. In this context, the scientific research project DECOST (Decentralised Composting in Small to Medium Towns) is developing, over a period of three years, a new framework for municipal management of organic waste for small and medium towns in the Mediterranean arc.

The aim of the project is to create closed decentralised systems for community and domestic composting, in which municipalities and residents play a key role in the recovery of organic waste and its use in urban agriculture projects, to increase the current percentage of organic fraction collection. In Catalonia, currently only 33 to 36% of the organic waste generated is collected selectively. The project is coordinated by the BETA Technological Center (Biodiversity, Ecology and Environmental and Food Technology) of the University of Vic - Central University of Catalonia (UVic-UCC) and funded by the European Union through the ENI CBC “Mediterranean Sea Basin Programme” cooperation programme which contributes 2.7 million euros (ME), equivalent to 90% of the total budget of 3.1 million euros.

Eight partners from six countries and four pilot tests

The DECOST project involves a total of eight partners, including universities, research centres and public administrations, from six different countries in the Mediterranean arc. In addition to the BETA TC, the consortium includes the Polytechnic University of Marche and the Ente di Governo per i Rifiuti e le Risorse Idriche della Basilicata, Italy; the University of Patras, Greece; the Irbid Agriculture Directorate and the Jordan University of Science and Technology, Jordan; the Galilee Society (Arab National Society for Health Research and Services), Israel; and the Palestine Technical University - Kadoorie, Palestine.

Waste agencies and municipalities from the different participating countries have also been involved in the project in order to, according to Joan Colón, DECOST's principal researcher, "form an international and multidisciplinary team that contributes both technical knowledge and local expertise in governance processes". More specifically, one of DECOST’s challenges is to implement demonstration experiences and different pilot tests for the recovery of municipal organic waste, which will take place in Spain, Italy, Jordan, and Palestine. In all of these, the starting point will be the implementation of new systems for composting municipal organic waste at community and household level.

Two pilot tests in Osona

Two of these pilot tests will be developed directly by researchers from the BETA Technological Center and will take place in the region of Osona. In the municipality of Les Masies de Roda, the DECOST project will incorporate a system of community composters throughout the municipality that will allow for the treatment of all the organic waste produced. The pilot test will be launched in early October, and will coincide with the implementation of the door-to-door waste collection system in the municipality through the joint venture company Recollida de Residus d’Osona of the Regional Council. It was presented this Friday afternoon at a press conference at the town hall of Les Masies de Roda.

The mayor of the municipality, Jordi Vistós, explained that this is "a unique opportunity for Les Masies de Roda, which will be able to treat organic waste in a unique and effective way, further facilitating the door-to-door collection system for residents and offering them a return that will benefit them. In this context, lead researcher Joan Colón explained that social return is one of the pillars of the entire DECOST project, but also of the pilot test carried out in Les Masies. Colón stated that the percentage of selective collection is expected to be between 70 and 80%, and will produce a much cleaner recycled fraction, thereby obtaining a very high-added value product – compost.

The system of operation is simple: door-to-door collection will include all waste fractions except for glass, which will continue to be taken to the container, and organic waste, which residents will drop off at 16 composting points strategically located throughout the municipality "in places where there were containers up to now”. The resulting compost will be given to residents who wish to use it as fertiliser for their gardens and vegetable plots. The remaining part will be used for the urban agriculture projects of social associations. For Colón, one of the main advantages of this community composting project is that it is professionally managed, "guaranteeing a problem-free system, with no bad smells, and producing an optimum quality product”.

At the press conference, the vice-rector for Research and Knowledge Transfer at the UVic-UCC, Jordi Collet, stressed the importance of applied projects like this, which "make it clear that research with international reach is not something rare and distant, but actually very real, rooted in the territory and with a clear beneficial and direct impact on the local environment”. The regional councillor for Environment and Sustainability, Margarita Feliu, highlighted the importance of collaboration between universities, research centres, administrations and citizens in the move towards a more sustainable context, and said it is the responsibility of administrations to ensure the implementation and proper functioning of initiatives such as ENI DECOST.

The project will also allow for the testing of a community composting system for treating green waste fraction in the Sant Llàtzer and Quatre Estacions neighbourhoods in Vic, with the aim of solving the neighbourhood’s current needs such as the management of plant waste from gardens.

Recovery of up to 2,000 tonnes of organic waste each year

With the new system, researchers expect to reduce organic waste and to recover between 1,500 and 2,000 tonnes a year (between 350 and 500 tonnes a year in each pilot test). Decoster's technical teams will work in parallel to promote urban agriculture projects in which the compost generated can be used. Training will be given to public administration staff and IT tools and mobile applications will be used to increase the citizens’ knowledge and commitment regarding waste management.

Colón states that, in the long term, "the aim is to achieve intelligent, sustainable and inclusive urban development whilst adapting to the reality of cities in both the north and south of the Mediterranean region. According to the project's principal 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 replicated in other municipalities in the Mediterranean arc at the end of the project.