DECOST, the Project

DECOST, the Project

DECOST, the acronym from Decentralized Composting in Small Towns, is a project supported by the European Union (EU), through the ENI CBC Mediterranean Sea Basin Program, in cooperation with partners from the Mediterranean basin countries. This is largest Cross-Border Cooperation (CBC) initiative implemented by the EU under the European Neighbourhood Instrument (ENI). For more information, please visit ENI CBC Med DECOST. The information next is quoted from the website.

Municipal waste management, one of the major environmental challenges for the Mediterranean area, is directly affected by population growth and concentration, urbanization and tourism. DECOST project aims to develop a new framework of waste management, building a closed-loop system of organic waste valorization, integrating decentralized home and community composting (H&CC) systems with urban agriculture. This goal can only be achieved by using a people-centered approach, empowering civil society and increasing institutional capacity building. Thanks to DECOST, Integrated Municipal Solid Waste Management Plans and pilot initiatives will be implemented in 4 different municipalities in order to reduce food waste, treat 1,500-2,000 tons of organic waste/year and use the produced compost in urban agriculture projects.

Besides diverting a significant amount of organic waste from being disposed of in landfills, the DECOST project will foster food security and accessibility thanks to the support of urban agriculture initiatives. Citizens, especially children, and households, will be encouraged to adopt sustainable behaviours through IT tools and big data analysis.