1st Meeting of Świętokrzyskie Stakeholders of the CORE project
The Stakeholders of the Świętokrzyskie region of the international CORE project met at the Nature Education Center in Umianowice. They talked about innovative solutions and good practices in the area of composting in rural environments.
The project involves 9 partners from 8 European countries: Germany, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Hungary, Greece and Sweden, while the Marshal Office of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship is the only partner from Poland.
CORE aims to improve circular economy policies and in particular waste management in partner regions to develop, scale and mainstream bio-waste management.
Project activities will be implemented over the next four years. The first three seem to be very promising and intense. It will be a time filled with thematic seminars, study visits and meetings of regional Stakeholders. The group of Świętokrzyskie Stakeholders consists of the Waste Disposal Plant “Janik” from Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, the Municipal Waste Management Plant from Rzędów, the Municipal Waste Management Company in Końskie, the Intermunicipal Municipal Waste Management Plant in Baćkowice, the Municipal and Housing Management Company in Włoszczowa, the Waste Management Company in Promnik, Ecological Association of Municipalities of the Koprzywianka River Basin, the Zagnańsk commune, the Regional Directorate for Environmental Protection in Kielce, the REMONDIS company from Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski and the Provincial Inspectorate of Environmental Protection in Kielce.
During the first meeting, partners had the opportunity to learn about good practices collected during the study visit to Ciudad Real in Spain. One of them is the so-called ‘masters composters’ – an institution of volunteers who educate residents of their towns on proper composting. These are people who are very committed to their activities, have great credibility among local communities and have practical experience. In Belgium, this initiative has been operating since 1995 and brings excellent results. Volunteers have government support – a whole system of training such people has been created. The situation is similar in Spain, where 192 volunteers were trained in just two years of the project’s existence. There is even a special manual for ‘masters composers’.
The concept of ‘public composting’ is also very interesting, and has proven successfulin countries such as Spain and Hungary. Residents compost together in a given town. The initiative is accompanied by a broad information and educational campaign.
– We also have a lot to show and we can be proud of what we are working on – emphasizes Wioletta Czarnecka, director of the Department of Environment and Waste Management of the Marshal Office of theŚwiętokrzyskie Voivodeship – participation in the project will allow us to learn about innovative solutions that will also be possible to implement in our country. We have already identified the first one.
The project partners of the Świętokrzyskie are already considering good practices developed in the region, which may become an inspiration for our foreign partners. In the area of education, such an example may be the functioning of a special department at the Municipal Waste Management Plant in Rzędów, which deals with ecological education and directs its activities to the inhabitants of the commune.
There is also no shortage of smart composting initiatives. At the RWMP (Regional Waste Management Plant) in Promnik, work is underway on the possibility of using the hydrothermal carbonization method of organic waste HTC, which involves the transformation of organic biomass into solid fuel – biochar, a renewable biofuel for various industrial applications.
Anna Kucharczyk, deputy director of the Department of Investment and Development of the Municipal Office of the Silesian Voivodeship, encouraged meeting participants to submit initiatives, ideas and recommendations that would improve regional policy instruments, e.g. the Regional Program named ‘European Funds for the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship 2021-2027’.
– We already have experience that the implementation of Interreg projects and the solutions developed within them have helped to direct EU support more purposefully. This is a real tool that can bring change, she emphasized.
CORE is co-financed by the Interreg Europe 2021-2027 program. The Department of Investment and Development with the support of the Department of Environment and Waste Management of the Marshal Office of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship is responsible for its coordination.
OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF THE CORE PROJECT:
https://www.interregeurope.eu/core-0
SOCIAL MEDIA:
