Project type                             Implementation of biowaste DtD collection system; Community composting

Partners                                  Berguedà’s Regional Council and the different municipalities of the region

Catalan Waste Agency (ARC) supervises and gives support to implement the model and purchase materials

Beneficiaries                          Berguedà Regional Council area and municipalities

Dates                                       2018 – Ongoing

Fuding                                    Income from landfill/incineration tax and refund tax system /ARC grants/Next Generation funds

Since 1996, Berguedà’s Regional Council has been in charge of the management and collection of municipal waste in the region. In this context, and with the aim to improve waste separation rate, biowaste collection has been implemented in the region since 2005, although it was not obligatory in Catalonia until 2008. Moreover, the need for a higher waste separate collection in the region was also boosted by the high disposal costs deriving from the introduction of a landfill and incineration tax increasing yearly.

Initially, biowaste was collected at bring points, and in 2018, DtD was implemented for the 12 biggest municipalities of the county (90% inhabitants). In the rest of the county, covering the remaining 10% of the population living in 19 small towns, community composting was implemented to treat biowaste.

For kitchen waste, each household was equipped with a vented kitchen caddy (20 litres) plus a set of compostable bioplastic bags/liners certified according to the EN-12432 standard. For garden waste, residents were also provided with bins with a capacity of 120 litres. Both systems count with user ID systems (tags in receptacles). Business and commercial activities from the HORECA sector received bins from 40 to 1.100 litres, also provided with a tag.

• After introducing biowaste collection, between years 2004 and 2020, there was a reduction in the residual waste production of 71%.
• In 2020, waste separate collection rate was 70%.
• By implementing a DtD collection system, biowaste separately collected increased three times, from 1.786 to 5.502 tonnes, in only four years. The quality of biowaste also improved.
• Impurities in biowaste range from 0.63% to 5.33% after implementation (for biowaste with impurities higher than 12.5% no payback of the refund tax system was received in 2023).
• Biowaste treatment costs in 2022 were 64 €/tonne (fee varies based on impurities).
• Residual or mixed waste treatment costs in 2022 were 47 €/tonne plus landfill tax (653 €/tonne).
• Compost obtained from community composters was free for inhabitants and was also applied by the city council in public gardens.
• Compost produced in composting plants was used in agriculture or gardening and sold directly by treatment plants.