The Greeks are going to be educated about how to make compost. As part of the EU funded LIFE scheme, two municipalities are starting pilot scale schemes which we are told will raise awareness of composting among the local population.
For the first time the Greek nation, just like the rest of Europe will begin lerning how to make compost. In times of austerity, this can only be good for those Greeks that also are gardeners and vegetable growers. It will help them to improve their soil quality, which in turm has been shown scientifically to increase yield, but also most importantly in hot countries like Greece, compost improves the soil moisture retention characteristics of the soil and this helps plants grow while being watered less.
The final advantage of learning how to make compost lies also in the fact that after heavy rain, compost improved soils absorb short heavy rainfall much better than non-compost based soils, which otherwise can just be shed off the surface of the dry soil and lost to the plants.
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Compost programme under way in two Greek municipalities Southeast European Times For the first time in Greece, municipal waste — both household and commercial — will be composted under a pilot programme launched in two municipalities. … Compost Program to be Launched in Two Greek Municipalities Greek Reporter |
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As we always like to give our readers an idea of the subject of our linked articles we provide a quote from the press story below:
“Our main goal is to raise awareness on composting and attempt to change people’s understanding of bio-waste as a source that can be utilised,” explains Dr Dimitris Malamis, who is co-ordinating the project on behalf of the National Technical University of Athens.
Three organizations — the Association of Communities and Municipalities in the Attica Region, the National Technical University of Athens, EPTA Ltd Environmental Engineers and Consultants – have teamed up with the municipalities of Athens and Kifissia in launching the effort.
The pilot programme will run for 36 months, or until mid 2014, with the goal of identifying at least five bio-waste parameters to be employed when designing future biological treatment plants in Athens and throughout Greece.
Initial separation at the source is conducted by placing brown-coloured bins on the streets. Participants are provided with 7lt home bins, biodegradable bags and informational material. They are required to collect organic materials from home — yard waste including leaves, trimmings, lawn clippings — as well as kitchen scraps.
Restaurants and food-related businesses are collecting kitchen refuse. In all, 1,120 bins are being distributed for the pilot project.
The collected bio-waste is taken to Envitec’s Waste Recycling and Composting plant at Ano Liosia, western Attica, where it undergoes treatment before producing high quality fertiliser.
“It sounds good for starters,” Ioanna T, a biochemist who lives in Kifissia, tells SETimes. “But the hard part will be to get people to change attitudes. People just can’t be bothered. Let’s face it; it’s easy to throw everything in a big bag. Now, we’ll have to think before getting rid of our waste.”
We would be interested to receive comments on the view of the Greeks, or anyone else, on this move toward teaching them how to make compost in their country, as part of their national progress toward reducing the use of landfill, and increasing all forms of recycling.
Listed below are some other websites with related information about this Compost topic:
Compost 50: Information from Answers.com
Compost heap | Define Compost heap at Dictionary.com
Building Your Compost Pile - Composting for the Homeowner ...
End of Waste Criteria - Biodegradable Waste Working Document ...
Urban Garden (Excellent Compost Tea recipe) - YouTube
The following are related composting posts, to be found on this website and which you may find interesting::
How To Make Compost
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Tags: compost, composting bins greece, how to make compost
