1

Why the project matters

Municipal waste management is a local issue with wide regional implications across the Mediterranean. Despite progress in collection, treatment, prevention, and recycling, solid and food waste remain critical and unevenly distributed, with EU Mediterranean countries generating nearly twice as much as the southern shore. Per capita waste rose 15% between 2010 and 2020 in the region, with total generation expected to reach 135 million tonnes by 2025. Additionally, participatory processes are rarely applied to waste management, and both businesses and citizens are not typically actively involved. As a result, environmentally sound management of municipal waste in the Mediterranean suffers from multiple drawbacks and chronic inefficiencies that demand strategic, collaborative solutions.

2

What it aims to achieve

• To develop a participatory and collaborative framework for solid and food waste management.
• To improve the development of local governance models in waste management.

3

Expected change

• Implemented pilot actions on multi-stakeholder local governance processes on municipal solid and food waste management in Mancomunitat la Plana (Spain), As-Salt (Jordan), Nabeul (Tunisia), Scandicci (Italy) and Kumluca (Türkiye).


• Developed methodology and guidelines for the design and implementation of governance models and public services including participatory approaches.


• Elaborated a policy paper to summarise the main challenges and solutions proposed, and a roadmap on how to replicate the methodology elsewhere.

4

What the project delivers

• Implemented re-use circuits on different waste streams, i.e. textiles (pilot in Spain)


• Promoted the reconnection between urban and agricultural parts (pilot in Italy) by working on food plans and policies


• Improved waste prevention and organic waste valorisation for larger waste producers (pilot in Tunisia)


• Promoted composting for households and businesses (pilot in Jordan)


• Produce organic fertilizers (pilot in Türkiye) from municipal organic waste management


• Identification of ambassadors in each pilot area to act as a vital link between the project and pilot initiatives, steering the experiences carried out at local level towards efficiency, coherence and impact at the community level.


• Policy paper on inclusive local governance models and an analysis of the potentialities of the Gov4GreenMed model to be replicated by other public authorities.


• Replication workshops and a final capitalisation conference organised to raise awareness on the good practices and solutions identified for a correct development and implementation of inclusive local governance models, targeting mainly local policymakers and other relevant stakeholders from the Mediterranean region.

5

Who benefits

• 5 public authorities


• 25 stakeholders involved in planning and providing public services for municipal solid and food waste management


• 390,000 citizens reached (with each pilot engaging an estimated 35,000—150,000 individuals)