MUNICIPALITY OF VRILISSIA

The neighborhood composting action includes the implementation of composting by the citizens themselves, at the neighborhood level and the production of compost for their own benefit.

The purpose of the initiative is, on the one hand, to strengthen the sense of neighborhood, to develop mutual relationships of trust and familiarity between the residents of a neighborhood and to collectively deal with its problems.

On the other hand, it aims to raise awareness and educate citizens on the rational management of waste, specifically on separate sorting at the source and encouraging self-management of waste through household composting.

Citizens, voluntary groups, schools

Ongoing action

The initiative involves the creation of a network of composters, placed in various neighborhoods, in an effort to self-manage kitchen scraps by the citizens-waste producers themselves. Specifically, composters were placed in pre-selected neighborhoods, mainly open public spaces (eg parks, schools, squares, etc.). where citizen groups and agencies "adopted" from a composter, at neighborhood or district level. Organic kitchen waste is collected in these bins, which are converted on site into rich organic fertilizer (compost).

For this reason, experiential training workshops were conducted on site in the mechanism of natural composting (aerobic and anaerobic) and the smooth conduct in the public space. Each composter is supervised jointly by all the participating citizens-final recipients of the produced compost, who are encouraged to communicate the neighborhood composting action to the rest of the residents of their wider area.

The entire composting process for the production of the final product (soil improver) is completed in approximately six (6) months and days. During all this time, the progress of composting is monitored, with regular visits to the points, where various parameters in the material being converted are checked (humidity, temperature, ventilation, etc.) and advice and instructions are provided to the trainees for corrective actions.

At regular intervals, participants meet under the coordination of the composting consultant, where they exchange opinions, experiences and generally get to know each other better through the common interest in environmental protection.

Also, the Municipality distributed 450 L home composters to the interested-educated citizens who have a garden, for the application of composting individually, to each household that meets the conditions of space and education.

With this original action, each participant is trained in the self-management of the organic waste that he produces in his home (kitchen, garden), without unnecessary costs and recovering the energy in his favor. He has the possibility to reduce his waste by up to 50%, while at the same time he can have a rich soil conditioner for his own needs completely free of charge, since he himself becomes a producer of the same compost he creates himself.

In this way, the foundations of social waste management are laid, with practices in favor of society as a whole, without mechanical means or unnecessary surplus values, given that the best separation machine is the human brain itself and through proper education we can communicate in the world the natural, true and additive-free composting for use under any conditions.

Involvement of volunteers in communicating the action to the local community, in encouraging participation in the action and in the "adoption" of the bins at neighborhood level.

MUNICIPALITY OF VRILISSIA

• The empowerment of the urban neighborhood, which has weakened in the modern city, due to alienation, impersonal contacts and lack of common interests. With this specific action, a social network of people with common expectations and actions is developed towards the collective treatment of the problems of a neighborhood and by extension the protection of the environment.
• On the other hand, the possibility of participatory action is given to residents with less mobility (e.g. the elderly, children, people with disabilities), who cannot access wider social networks
• The strengthening of the concept of reciprocity, as the citizens-producers of organic waste themselves are transformed into compost producers, and they themselves received the final produced product, i.e. the soil improver.
• Experiential education on home and neighborhood composting, through neighborhood composters that are open and thus accessible to everyone.
• Strengthening the logic of separating waste at the source, i.e. where it is produced, as the organics are pre-selected by the citizen himself for household and neighborhood composting, while the citizen is trained in recycling and reuse techniques of recyclable materials, thus strengthening the logic of integrated waste management.

Strengthening the sense of the Municipality's identity, and therefore also the operation of the Municipality.