DECOST – Decentralised composting in small towns (ENI-CBC-MED) 

General concept

DECOST project aims to develop a new framework of waste management, building a closed-loop system of organic waste valorisation, integrating decentralised home and community composting 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 are being 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.

The role of UNIVPM in DECOST 

UNIVPM is implementing two different composting approaches in Basilicata, Italy. In Basilicata, two different sites are selected, the town Atella and a peri-urban village of the city of Potenza. Atella hosts the centralized composting system for OFMSW and agricultural waste, while the decentralized composting is being implemented in Potenza only for OFMSW. The solution envisaged for the decentralized Italian site is a combination of community and home composting. The community composting system is based on the application of electromechanical machines located in strategic points inside the urban/residential area of the Macchia Romana district in the municipality of Potenza. The equipment will be used by citizens themselves that are involved in the project. The main purpose of the urban agriculture model to be developed in the Italian case is combining all positive social and environmental aspects of the urban agriculture with the valorisation of compost. First, the possibility of using the compost products in personal gardens or farms (in the case of the centralized project with agriculture waste) will be given to all the citizens contributing to the project. The remaining compost products will be then used in specific urban farming project in order to gain social and educational values. The compost produced with the decentralized system, for example, will be used in the urban gardens already active in the Macchia Romana district in the municipality of Potenza. 

Expected impacts

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. Expected achievements include: 4 new Integrated Municipal Waste Management Plans designed, 4 composting plants created, 1,500 – 2,000 tons/year of total waste recycling capacity installed, 1 smartphone application allowing citizens to monitor their environmental performance in terms of waste sorting and recycling, 40 municipal staff trained and 1 business plan to foster the long-term economic viability of the recycling system developed.