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Programme nearbyCommunityFrankfurt

Clean up a square with friends and make it feel in Frankfurt

Clean up a square with friends and make it feel in Frankfurt Frankfurt has a small public square near almost every home: a market corner in Höchst, a quiet Platz in Nordend, a bench area in Ostend, a spot in Bockenheim or Westend. Most just need people to show up. Gather a few friends, spend an hour picking up litter together, then stay a while and enjoy the place you just cleaned. That is the whole idea, and it works because you repeat it. What you can do - Pick a square near where you live. Browse Wikimedia Commons: Squares in Frankfurt am Main for names and photos, or explore a district first on Visit Frankfurt: Frankfurter Stadtviertel (Bockenheim and Westend, the Brückenviertel in Sachsenhausen, Höchst's old town, Nordend and Bornheim, or Ostend along the Main). Well-known squares like Opernplatz, Konstablerwache, or Höchster Markt work too, but any square near you is just as good a start. - Message two to six friends who live close by and agree on a time. A Saturday morning works well. - Sign up once as a Sauberkeitspatin or Sauberkeitspate on the FES page Bürgerinnen und Bürger helfen mit. You choose the square or street, FES gives you grabbers, gloves, and bags and keeps restocking them, and you get one fixed contact person for questions. You clear small litter yourself and report anything larger, like dumped furniture, by phone or email. - Or plan a one-time group clean-up through FES Bürger-Sammeltage. Pick an upcoming date, such as the Main Cleanup on 12 September 2026 or World Cleanup Day on 20 September 2026. FES supplies the equipment and collects the waste afterward. For parks, playgrounds, or the city forest, contact the Grünflächenamt first (gruenflaechenamt@stadt-frankfurt.de), as the FES page explains. - Or join the citywide Frankfurt Cleanup weekend, run together by cleanffm and FES Frankfurt. The last edition, in March 2026, brought together more than 7,000 people across around 200 pickup points. The next one is set for 12 and 13 March 2027; registration opens closer to the date. - Add a reuse table once the litter is gone, the way Klimaschutz-Initiative Riedberg does it: lay out tools, toys, and household items nobody needs anymore so a neighbour can take them home instead of them being thrown away. - Finish by staying. Bring coffee, sit on a bench, talk to whoever passes by. That last part is what turns a cleaned square into a square people actually want to be in. How it works The Sauberkeitspate programme has run since 2000 and keeps adding people: 416 patrons by 2022, 476 by 2023, plus schools and kindergartens that care for an area as a group. You decide how large your patch is and how often you show up; there is no minimum. Bürger-Sammeltage work the same way for a single day: register, pick up gloves and bags at a collection point, clean, and FES takes the waste away afterward. Frankfurt Cleanup scales that same pattern to one weekend a year, city-wide. None of this changes who owns the square. It stays public land; you are simply the person, or group of friends, who looks after a small part of it. Why it matters Showing up for the same square more than once turns strangers into people you recognise and greet. It is a low-effort way to meet neighbours, and there is no guilt attached: you are not fixing a crisis, you are just making one place a little nicer to be in. A handful of small groups doing this across Frankfurt adds up to a city where public squares get used and looked after instead of avoided.
Programme nearbyCommunityRome

Calatafimi Segesta: 87.7% source separation in rural Sicily

A small Sicilian town at the top of Europe's waste rankings Calatafimi Segesta, a municipality of around 6,000 in the province of Trapani, Sicily, achieved over 87.7% source separation of municipal solid waste: one of the highest rates in Italy and among the best in Europe. In a country where Sicily's aggregate recycling performance lags the national average, Calatafimi Segesta stands as proof that ambition and community participation matter more than location or wealth. What drives the result - Rigorous door-to-door collection for all fractions: organics, paper, plastics, glass, residual - A culture of participation built through consistent communication with residents - Close collaboration with the local waste operator and Zero Waste Italy - Regular monitoring and public reporting of results What you can do - If your municipality is below 50% separate collection, ask your waste operator and council what it would take to adopt door-to-door collection - Share Calatafimi Segesta's results as evidence when advocating for better collection in your area - Follow Zero Waste Italy for case studies and advocacy support Why it matters At 87.7%, Calatafimi Segesta diverts nearly nine tonnes in ten from disposal. Multiplied across the 340-municipality Italian Zero Waste network, this model has the potential to remove millions of tonnes of waste from landfills and incinerators.
Programme nearbyCommunityRome

Marche region Zero Waste pilot: embedding the path at local level

From Tuscany to Marche: scaling the regional model Following the success of the Tuscany cluster pilot, Zero Waste Italy launched a parallel pilot in the Marche region: working with municipalities to embed a clear Zero Waste path at the local level. A key challenge the pilot addresses is administrative discontinuity: when mayors change and political majorities shift, Zero Waste commitments can be lost. The pilot builds institutional memory and community ownership that outlast any single administration. What the pilot does - Works directly with municipalities on Zero Waste strategies and waste prevention plans - Builds local reference points: civic observers, neighbourhood coordinators: to maintain momentum through political cycles - Shares findings with the broader Italian ZW network so other regions can adopt the model What you can do - If you live in Marche, ask your municipality whether it is participating in the ZWI pilot and how residents can contribute - Volunteer as a local Zero Waste observer or ambassador through Zero Waste Italy - Use the findings from the pilot to advocate for your own municipality's commitment to a Zero Waste strategy Why it matters The biggest obstacle to Zero Waste is not technology: it is political and institutional continuity. Marche's pilot is testing exactly how to build the civic infrastructure that makes the commitment stick.
Programme nearbyCommunityGuimarães

Guimarães: on track to be Portugal's first Zero Waste certified city

The city that could change Portugal's waste map Guimarães, a UNESCO World Heritage city of around 160,000 people in northern Portugal, is the country's leading Zero Waste candidate: expected to achieve full ZWE Zero Waste Cities certification in 2026. Working with ZERO – Associação Sistema Terrestre Sustentável, Guimarães is building the collection infrastructure, resident participation culture, and political commitment needed to become a national landmark for sustainable waste management. What the candidacy involves - Implementation of separate door-to-door collection for all main fractions - Community composting and organic waste diversion - Local plastic prevention policies and reuse promotion - Regular monitoring and public reporting of waste reduction results Why it matters for Portugal Portugal currently sends 60 % of its municipal solid waste to landfill: one of the highest rates in Western Europe. Guimarães's certification would give the country its first credible proof point that a different path is achievable, and would directly inspire other candidate municipalities (Albergaria-a-Velha, Corvo, São João da Madeira, Vila de Rei) currently in the pipeline. How to get involved - If you live in Guimarães, follow the municipal environmental office for participation opportunities in the Zero Waste programme - Follow ZERO for certification updates and policy advocacy tools - Ask your local councillor how your municipality can begin the ZW candidacy process
Programme nearbyCommunitySkiathos

Skiathos Zero Waste candidate: plastic prevention and the ERIC project

A tourist island taking on plastic: with EU support Skiathos, one of the Sporades islands and a major summer tourist destination, is a Zero Waste candidate municipality working with ECOREC on a Plastic Prevention Plan under the EU ERIC (Elevating Reuse In Cities) project. The plan, in development as of 2024: addresses the particular waste challenge of an island that receives hundreds of thousands of tourists each summer, many of them arriving on dayboats, generating concentrated seasonal waste. What the Skiathos programme covers - Plastic Prevention Plan being developed with ECOREC and the ERIC project framework - Collaboration with the municipality on waste stream analysis and reduction targets - The Zero Waste Rota programme trains dayboat operators to educate tourists on waste disposal at sea and on remote beaches not accessible by road Why it matters Greek tourist islands generate disproportionate waste relative to their permanent populations. A working plastic prevention plan in Skiathos would give every other Aegean tourist island a concrete template: and the ERIC project means European funding and methodology back the effort. How to engage - If you visit Skiathos, follow guidance on dayboat operators' waste practices and separate waste correctly at island facilities - Follow ECOREC for the Plastic Prevention Plan's public consultation stages - Ask your own municipality's environmental office whether ERIC project participation is available
Programme nearbyCommunitySkiathos

Coastal zero waste tourism: how dayboats can protect remote beaches

Skiathos shows that tourist operators can lead on waste The Zero Waste Rota programme, developed by ECOREC and the Municipality of Skiathos, trains dayboat operators to actively educate tourists about proper waste disposal: including at remote beaches that are inaccessible by road and therefore lack collection infrastructure. The programme measurably increased recycling rates on the island and fostered a culture of environmental responsibility among visitors. What the programme involves - Dayboat operators receive training on waste separation and guest communication - Tourists are briefed on board before reaching remote beaches about what to do with packaging and recyclables - Operators bring separated waste back to port for collection: protecting beaches that cannot be serviced by standard vehicles - The approach is scalable to any island with a dayboat economy Why it matters Greece's Aegean islands face intense seasonal waste from marine tourism. Regulation alone cannot reach a boat at sea or a path-only beach. The Skiathos model shows that education and operator buy-in can do what infrastructure cannot, and it is directly replicable on any island with a similar tourist boat economy. How to replicate it - If you operate or charter boats in the Aegean, contact ECOREC about Zero Waste Rota training - If you visit Greek islands by dayboat, ask whether the operator follows Zero Waste Rota practices: and request it if not - Municipal waste officers on other islands can use the Skiathos programme as a template for ERIC or national funding bids
Programme nearbyCommunityVienna

Graz "(Zero) Waste in the City?": civic dialogue between activism and urban agenda

A panel that brought zero waste into the policy conversation In September 2024, Zero Waste Austria participated in a panel discussion in Graz: "(Zero) Waste in the City? Between Activism and Urban Agenda", organised by the Waste in Motion (WiM) research network. The panel brought together experts from WiM, representatives of the City of Graz, Zero Waste Austria, and Katja Sres from Ekologi Brez Meja (Slovenia): one of the strongest Zero Waste Europe member organisations. The format is designed to be replicable in other Austrian cities. What the panel discussion format provides - A structured dialogue between zero waste advocates, researchers, and city officials - Cross-border learning: Slovenia's experience via Ekologi Brez Meja adds an EU best-practice dimension - A public record that zero waste is a legitimate part of urban policy discourse in Graz - A template that other Austrian cities can use to host similar panels with city council involvement How to engage - Austrian municipalities and research institutions: contact Zero Waste Austria or the Waste in Motion research network to organise a similar panel in your city - Activists and civil society: use the Graz format as a model for connecting with local researchers and city officials: the research network provides academic legitimacy - Students and academics: engage with the Waste in Motion network and connect zero waste scholarship to local policy advocacy Why it matters Zero waste needs a seat at the urban policy table, not just protest outside it. The Graz panel brought advocates, researchers, and city officials into one room, a replicable format for turning activism into municipal agenda.