THE STORY OF PONTEVEDRA CASE STUDY #13 Thanks to decentralised composting the province of Pontevedra went from providing no options for bio-waste to a comprehensive and community-based system. After 3 years, already more than 2,000 tonnes of biowaste were locally composted and the project rolled- out in more than two-third of the province’s municipalities. Spain is still lagging behind regarding broader EU waste management objec- tives, but the story of Pontevedra proves that good results can easily be achieved with low-key and cost efficient measures. INTRODUCTION in the region. Taking into account The objective was not only to shift that of the 348 kilograms of waste away from burning or landfilling Today, the concept of a circular produced by inhabitants each and towards composting instead, economy is becoming ever more year, 53% to 55% is biowaste (45% but it was designed to create a present in European societies being food scraps and 8 to 11% decentralised, community-led sys- and with this, there is increasing being garden waste), the project tem of bio-waste management. recognition regarding the crucial was therefore designed to set- In the long term this has resulted role that composting of biowaste up a sustainable, local and cost- in a more cost-effective and can play in closing the material and efficient management system for environmentally friendly system resource loop within our economies. bio-waste. that directly benefits the local Much of the progress that is being community. made on this topic throughout After 3 years, the Revitaliza project Europe has not reached Spain yet. in the province of Pontevedra offers The province of Pontevedra is The country still lags behind due to a tangible and successful example composed of 61 municipalities with the fact that much of its bio-waste of how to effectively implement an approximate population of is still incinerated or sent to landfill a decentralised bio-waste mana- 960,000, of which 50% live in rural rather than returned to the soil. gement system. Not only does areas. Currently the project is this system allow the municipality being deployed in 60 out of the 61 The province of Pontevedra sits to move away from expensive municipalities in Pontevedra, with within Galicia, a large geographical and harmful waste treatment the biggest city in the province region of sparsely populated towns options that currently exist across not included due to the fact that and villages that account for only 2% most European societies, but the 300,000 residents live within of the Spanish population. In 2017, it also provides real, impactful a densely populated area, in vast only 9% of the waste in Pontevedra benefits for the environment and contrast to the rest of the region. was separately collected, leaving localcommunity. Among the 60 municipalities for the remaining 91% to be transported which “Revitaliza” was intended for, more than 100 kilometres away to HOW IT ALL STARTED 44 have now joined the process. be either burned (70%) or landfilled (20%) in A Coruña1. In 2015, in order to comply with EU recycling obligations and to provide “It doesn’t make sense to have a To shift from this unsustainable, an adapted bio-waste management centralised waste management centralised and expensive waste system for the Province, Pontevedra system for a decentralised area” management system, the province started “Revitaliza” with the aim of of Pontevedra launched a project diverting the organic waste stream Carlos Pérez Losada, named “Revitaliza”2 to build a away from simply being disposed. Technical Director of Revitaliza decentralised composting system 1 Source https://revitaliza.depo.gal/ 2“Revitalizar” means revitalising. By producing compost to enrich impoverished soils, REVITALIZA aims at revitalising soils. Table 1: Breakout of Pontevedra’s population according to the density. HOW DOES IT WORK This carbon material is then than 2.000 tonnes per year and distributedto residents throughout less than 45 km from bio-waste Revitaliza fully relies on a the region. producers. decentralised composting system to treat bio-waste, composed of 3 key The composting options Data collection process factors: • A balanced input of materials Three composting options are The project was designed to ensure that ensure a proper offered to the region’s inhabitants that more than 75% of the inhabitants composting process can take depending on the density of the area: will be covered by a decentralised place. composting process, either through • A suitable location for the 1. Individual composting (COIN): systems at home or in their local com-posting process to be This consists of home community. Therefore, an efficient conducted at, which has to be composters for households monitoring and data collection adapted to the area’s specific with enough space to host them. process was needed, since the needs and context. They are distributed to house- system was not going to be managed • The design and implementation holds in scattered areas with by professional technicians but of an effective monitoring a population size between 100 rather by individual citizens and system to ensure the success and 1,000 inhabitants. communities. of the process, by identifying and solving issues that arise 2. Community composting (CCC): In Pontevedra, specific monitoring throughout the implementation These are made of composting and data collection processes were phase. boxes (called UMC) and a established for both community and community will have access to home composting to address the The composting process either 3, 5, 6 or 10 composting different specifics of each system. boxes together in one location, A good composting process relies depending on the community’s For community composting, profes- on a mix of carbon material, such size, to ensure sufficient space sionals from Revitaliza are in charge as garden waste, and nitrogen for a proper composting process of common tasks such as watering material, such as food scraps. As to take place. Community the compost if it becomes too dry, kitchen waste makes up the majority composting sites are set up mixing kitchen and garden waste of waste in households, restaurants in densely populated areas together or sieving the compost and hotels, it is a material to which (between 100 and 1,000 people, once it has matured. Besides those everybody can access easily. or beyond 1,000). basic tasks, further data is collected However, since not everybody lives on the filling level, the temperature in a household with a garden, all 3. Local Composting Plants (PCC): of composting sites or even on residents cannot be expected to For areas too densely populated potential incidents that are likely to have access to home composters. for home com-posting or happen, such as bad smells, larvae Therefore in Pontevedra, to ensure community composting, small or rodents. a good composting process, the scaled composting plants Revitaliza project established have been established to treat garden waste sites for citizens to biowaste. Those plants are bring their garden waste surplus. limited by two factors: no more Table 2: Number of composting options per inhabitants. To ensure that an effective data WHO WAS COVERED BY THE term, via the trial of only one collection and database is created, PROJECT AND WHAT IS THE community composting site master composters collecting this ROLE OF REVITALIZA for instance. information now use a smartphone app. When the master composter As Revitaliza is implemented 2. The mandatory option. checks a community composting by the province of Pontevedra Revitaliza pays the muni- site and inputs the data in the app, to deal with households’ waste, cipality to completely run the the app uses its geolocation to municipalities and its inhabitants system. Revitaliza therefore define which site is being analysed. are the first targets of the project. pays for all the costs, including Once all the information has been Yet, the project does not only stop technicians, machines, shred- added to the app, it connects at households but it also covers ders and trainings for 4 years automatically to a web platform specific entities producing bio- or until the municipality is where the data is stored. Frequent waste in high quantity, such as ready to take care of the data collection then allows for restaurants, coffee shops, hotels, composting system by itself. regular comparisons to be made hospitals and schools. With this option, all the regarding the composting quality restaurants and hotels will and the calculations of volume of As the project has started 3 have their own community bio-waste treated every year. years ago and the area is not yet composting site. fully covered, Revitaliza offers For home composting the process three options to municipalities 3. The most recent option, which is almost the same. Once the regarding whether they wish to fully is still being developed, once household receives the home implement the project or simply run option 2 is well-functioning. composter, workers from Revitaliza a pilot first: It consists of having Revi- provide explanations on how it is taliza’s activities covered operated. Once settled, households 1. The basic voluntary option. by a municipal ordinance, receive visits from workers to Composters and trainings are thus making it regulatory monitor the composting process and provided by Revitaliza, but and broadened so as to collect data using the same model once everything is settled, the include a mandatory waste as for community composting. municipality is left in charge collection system. Thus, waste When the quality of the compost of running the process. The management fees would not is good enough (usually after one concept behind this option be fixed anymore but would year), monitoring visits - they can is to get an idea of how the vary according to the quantity go up to 4 visits - stop and the system works and to provide of recyclable or mixed waste household autonomously manages examples of how this method generated.