Possibilities of decentralised bio-waste management through local composting for economic, environmental and social improvements in the area (18 January 2018)

19 October 2017 Webinars

On 18 January 2018 ACR+ hosted a webinar entitled "Possibilities of decentralised bio-waste management through local composting for economic, environmental and social improvements in the area”. Organised in collaboration with its member Agencia de Ecología Urbana de Barcelona (BCNEcologia), this webinar presented different examples of the development of successful community composting examples in different areas, which strategies had been applied and which were the main difficulties confronted.

Indeed, over the past few decades, composting has begun to be recognised as a valuable tool for urban waste management. Composting facilities, however, have gone through several crises, mainly because the composition of household waste has changed significantly since the middle of the last century. Nevertheless, the combination and coincidence of certain circumstances has led to a new era for localised composting. The global economic crisis, which seriously affected the investment capacity of municipalities, together with the growing public environmental awareness and a shift in consumption patterns (including food and energy), has led to waste management strategies that are economically, environmentally and socially beneficial. By their very nature, they have included community-scale composting of household organic waste.

Community composting brings many environmental benefits, as well as having economic, educational and social plus points. In order to plan a successful community composting project, some challenges that can be classified as technical, logistic, economic, social and political, must first be dealt with.

Examples of decentralised composting strategies were presented in particular community composting in rural areas, in mountains and in extreme weather conditions.

Presentations

Introduction to the different models for local composting. Main technical, logistic and social factors for success. Evaluation and quality of the compost produced (Gemma Nohales - BCN Ecologia; Ramón Plana - International consultant)

Examples of decentralised composting strategies:

Community composting in rural areas - as exclusive model of bio-waste management (Ramón Plana - International consultant)
- Leinz-Gatzaga (Basque Country, Spain): 100% of bio-waste composted locally
- Larrabetzu & Usurbil (Basque Country, Spain): Local farmers collect bio-waste from the town to manage it through composting in their farms

Community composting as a strategy for the whole territory (Anna Pazó and Daniel Cacabelos - Pontevedra County Council)
- Province of Pontevedra (Spain): strategic plan to manage through local composting the bio-waste from the rural areas of the province and avoid collection of residual fraction of urban wastes.
- Children’s City “Príncipe Felipe” (Pontevedra, Spain): a zero-waste children’s education centre and residence with a population equivalent to 2000 inhabitants.
The role of small-scale and decentralised composting in the SCOW project (Gemma Nohales - BCN Ecologia)
- Pallars Sobirá (Lleida, Spain). Home and community composting in mountain towns (Pyrenees) to minimize waste collection and its frequency. This model is complemented with a small scale composting facility for biowaste selective collected by DtD system.
- Composting adapted to extreme weather conditions: Dynamic systems with rotary drums (Kibuttzs in Upper Galilee, Israel).