Cascais began a residential food waste collection pilot project on February 2020. During the pilot, Cascais Ambiente (municipal company) is collecting food waste from 5500 families in the parish of Carcavelos. The pilot will divert food waste from landfill and incineration and turn it into compost and energy in the waste treatment plant of Tratolixo, reducing the impact of solid waste on the environment.
The pilot will help the Municipality of Cascais to adjust this model of selective collection of bio-waste to the entire municipality, mobilizing the population for the need to separate more and better their recyclable waste.
A previous pilot made with only 500 families demonstrated that this collection model allows for considerable increases in recycling in a short period of time. In the area of this project, recycling increased from 11 to 40%.
HOW DOES THE PILOT PROJECT WORK?
Pilot households receive a kitchen pail and rolls of green bags to collect day-to-day food waste in their home. The participants just have to close the greenbag with the food waste and place it in the unsorted waste bins located on the streets – at any given day or time.
Cascais Ambiente collects unsorted waste and greenbags together, disposing them on Tratolixo facilities. There, the greenbags are separated from other waste and sent to compost and produce energy.
PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT
It is important to develop a program that best suits the residents of Cascais, that’s why feedback from previous pilot households about their experience was used to implement this pilot project.
A two-phase public engagement program is in place: for start a team of technicians from Cascais Ambiente is developing a door-to-door campaign instructing citizens on what to deposit (raw or cooked food scraps, paper napkins, coffee grounds, etc.) and not to deposit (cigarette butts, liquids, baking paper, etc.) on the greenbags. Subsequently, during the pilot project, the same team will develop follow-up campaigns, always based on door-to-door campaigns, in order to guarantee the participation and awereness of the population.