SCALIBUR Project Kicks-Off Their Biowaste Club in Kozani, Greece

• @SCALIBUR_H2020

In the European Union over 100 million tonnes of biowaste are thrown away every year. Currently, 75% of this goes to landfill or is incinerated, and this is about to change for the SCALIBUR project’s three pilot cities – Kozani, Albano Laziale and Madrid. The first city to officially kick-off their biowaste club is Kozani, Greece, where a local stakeholder panel will implement various activities along Kozani’s biowaste value chain.

As in much of Europe, most organic waste in Kozani currently goes to landfill – a bad option for the environment and the economy. The Municipality of Kozani is determined to change this with the newly launched Biowaste Club.

The Club consists of a stakeholder board that includes all key local actors along the city’s biowaste value chain. During the 4 years of the SCALIBUR project, the Biowaste Club will be supported by the CSCP and local project partner CluBE (Cluster of Bioenergy and Environment of Western Macedonia) to pilot new initiatives to make Kozani’s biowaste value chain more circular. The Biowaste Club will support the Municipality to roll-out separate collection in pilot neighbourhoods across the city of Kozani, and explore opportunities to transform biowaste into valuable products such as bioplastics and fertilisers.

Members of the Club will work together to revolutionise the Integrated Regional Waste Management System, making the city a circular economy pioneer in Greece, while also exploring the potential to create new growth and employment opportunities through better biowaste management.

“The biowaste club will be our core engagement tool in Kozani, to empower all actors along the value chain – in particular the citizens – to bring in their needs, perspectives and visions for Kozani and to motivate them to actively contribute to biowaste recycling and sustainable lifestyles in their city”, explained Carina Diedrich, Project Manager, the CSCP.

Kozani, Albano Laziale and Madrid will be supported by expert partners from the SCALIBUR project, who are researching and testing improved methods for biowaste collection, transport, sorting and (pre)treatment.

This initiative is part of the project SCALIBUR, which has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme. Under the guidance of the CSCP, ‘Biowaste Clubs’ are also being established in Albano Laziale (Italy) and Madrid (Spain).

Please contact Carina Diedrich for more information.

Map Image: OpenStreetMap | License: Open Database License (ODbL)

photo Ⓒ Nikos Ntavos, CluBE (Cluster of Bioenergy and Environment of Western Macedonia)