The Mediterranean region still has many challenges to solve regarding waste collection, recycling and prevention, and municipal solid and food waste management. However, considerable efforts have been made towards cleaner cities and towns. In the centre of Catalonia there is the public entity Mancomunitat La Plana which brings together a total of 14 towns in the south of Osona and one in Moianès. This organization offers services in areas such as the environment (waste collection and treatment, environmental education and street cleaning), social services (home care, housing, youth, equality), local development (training and employment) and funeral services. The organization jointly manages services that would be difficult or expensive to undertake individually.
Even though this entity is a successful example of door-to-door separate waste collection and treatment in Catalonia and Spain, it has some issues to address, especially to advance towards reuse, waste prevention and the circular economy.
They will complement, strengthen, and scale existing circuits through a more participatory governance model that promotes greater involvement of citizens and local actors. They will also expand and improve reuse circuits already in operation and increase local capacities in terms of repair and reuse, with the aim of consolidating a more efficient, inclusive and locally rooted system.
To tackle these challenges Mancomunitat La Plana participates in the Gov4GreenMed project which designs territorial participatory methodologies on municipal solid waste management and food waste policies through five pilot actions in different municipalities of the Mediterranean.
“We are very pleased to be part of this project and to begin working together. For us, this participation is a way to make our work better known and more highly valued, while also encouraging citizen involvement in the proper management of waste,” says Mariona Bigas, environmental technician at Mancomunitat La Plana.
The Gov4GreenMed project, under the Interreg NEXT MED program, aims to address the challenges faced in the centre of Catalonia, in Spain, as well as other municipalities in Italy, Jordan, Türkiye and Tunisia. The project seeks to foster effective cooperation between local authorities and various stakeholders and to strengthen local governance models. Its goal is to support the implementation of shared public services, enhance citizens’ quality of life, and promote the green transition of Mediterranean municipalities.
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