The Adriatic Sea and the communities that share it are under great pressure from the increasing amount of waste generated in their area, which is circulating throughout the semi-enclosed Adriatic ecosystem. Croatian and Italian organizations will cooperate under the AWASTER project to address this challenge.
It is estimated that 80% of marine litter originates from land sources, so it is necessary to adopt principles of circular economy into the business processes of the production sector as soon and successfully as possible and to strengthen existing knowledge bases on waste management at educational and professional levels, including raising environmental awareness from an early age.
Project goal:
The Interreg project “Adopting Waste as Resource” (AWASTER) will be implemented in coastal areas of Croatia and Italy with the overall objective of minimizing waste production by promoting circular economy principles through educational programs for students and stakeholders in the economic production sector, as well as through cross-border exchange of knowledge and experiences.
Sunce will have an important communication role in this project and will lead overall project-level communication in addition to developing the project communication strategy. Sunce is also the leader of the second work package, within which it will coordinate and organize workshops in primary schools.
Project activities:
1. Analysis of circular economy approaches, exchange of experience and use of best practices to develop guidelines, Joint Strategy and Action Plan on sustainable use of resources aiming to minimize waste generation
- development of regional analyses for each project area,
- organization of regional workshops to collect inputs and discuss the format and content of the guidelines and Action plan,
- promotion of the Strategy and Action Plan at the mid-term high-level dissemination event
2. Implementation of the joint action plan
- implementation of educational workshops in primary schools with associated activities and intergenerational cooperation through child-parent knowledge transfer in all project areas
- implementation of regional educational workshops, stakeholder surveys and organization of waste-free events
- implementation of the joint educational programme intended for project partners and key economic stakeholders.
3. Recapitulation of results and transfer of acquired knowledge
- creation of recommendations for future cooperation
- organisation of the final international conference
Expected project results:
1. The Joint Strategy and Action plan on sustainable use of resources by the adoption of circular economy principles
2. AWASTER pilot actions jointly developed and implemented – establishment of EcoLabs and organization of waste-free events
3. Educational training course for project partners and stakeholders with the aim of adopting circular economy knowledge in business and management strategies
4. Final international conference
Project Lead Partner: IRENA – Istrian Regional Energy Agency Ltd.
Partners: The Association for Nature, Environment, and Sustainable Development Sunce, The Local Action Group LAG 5, Sinloc Spa, VeGal and The Municipality of Casarano.
Total project budget: 1,505,384.00 EUR
EU funding: 1,204,307.20 EUR
The European Union finances 80% of the project budget through the European Regional Development Fund.
Project duration: 30 months
Project Manager at Sunce: Tea Kuzmičić Rosandić, MSc in Biology and Ecology
Email: [email protected]
Official project website: in progress
