How to Utilize Compost in Cities?
What are the benefits of using soil improvers instead of artificial fertilizers? Can a gravel parking lot be transformed into an urban "jungle" with the involvement of local residents? Is compost a suitable construction material for building projects? These and other good practices were discussed today during the IV Regional Stakeholders meeting in the “CORE – Composting in Rural Environments” project.
The meeting was led by Joanna Rudawska, Deputy Director of the Department of Regional Development, and Wioletta Czarnecka, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture, Climate, and Environment. Employees from the Municipal and Industrial Waste Management Division of the Department of Agriculture, Climate, and Environment shared good practices from the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, presented during the 4th Thematic Seminar in Potsdam.
During the seminar in Germany, Polish representatives introduced a model for using soil improvers instead of artificial fertilizers to enhance soil quality. The benefits of this approach include producing compost for residents’ personal use, reducing transportation needs and CO2 emissions, minimizing noise pollution, lowering energy consumption in regional waste management facilities, and achieving higher municipal waste recycling rates.
Paweł Rędziak, President of the Board of the Ecological Association of the Koprzywianka River Basin Municipalities, a regional stakeholder in the project, discussed municipal waste management, including the purification of biodegradable waste, using the example of the association’s initiatives As well as shared with knowledge gained during the IV Thematic Seminar in Germany.
The CORE project, “Composting in Rural Environments,” is funded by the European Union under the INTERREG EUROPE 2021–2027 program. It involves 11 stakeholders from the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, including representatives from regional municipal waste management plants, government administration (such as the Provincial Inspectorate for Environmental Protection in Kielce and the Regional Directorate for Environmental Protection in Kielce), as well as municipal authorities and private sector entrepreneurs. The project is coordinated by the Department of Regional Development and the Department of Agriculture, Climate, and Environment.