Programme nearbyCommunityRomeCalatafimi Segesta: 87.7% source separation in rural SicilyA 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.recyclingsource-separationrural +1
Programme nearbyFood & GardenKievUkraine bio-waste roadmap: a guide for small communities starting from scratchA practical roadmap built from real village composting pilots Based on the composting work in Pidkamin, Zabolotsiv, and Horokhiv (Lviv and Volyn oblasts), Zero Waste Alliance Ukraine developed a Bio-waste Management Roadmap for Small Communities: a guide that walks any community of under 20,000 residents through setting up and running a bio-waste composting system. The roadmap incorporates lessons from what worked in the pilot communities and what didn't. What the roadmap covers - Step-by-step infrastructure planning: composter siting, type selection, and capacity calculation - Resident engagement strategies that work in small rural communities - Monitoring and reporting templates for tracking waste diversion - Legal framework analysis under current Ukrainian waste legislation - Permaculture design elements (such as replacing annual plantings with perennials) that reduce garden waste generation upstream How to engage - Ukrainian community leaders and local officials: request the roadmap from Zero Waste Alliance Ukraine for use in your own municipality - International donors: the roadmap is the key output of the LIFE-funded ForkToFarm project in Ukraine: support its translation and distribution to more communities - Ukrainian NGOs and educators: incorporate the roadmap into municipal capacity-building workshops Why it matters Small rural communities rarely have waste consultants on call. A roadmap built from real village composting pilots gives any town under 20,000 residents a step-by-step path, infrastructure, engagement, and monitoring included.bio-wasteroadmapsmall-communities +2
Programme nearbyEnergyBelgradeBeli Breg: village energy cooperative near VranjeThirteen households pool solar savings in southern Serbia In Beli Breg Popovci, a hillside hamlet near Vranje in south-eastern Serbia, thirteen households formed Energetska zadruga Beli Breg Popovci, one of the country's newest citizen energy cooperatives. Members voted at a founding assembly in June 2026 to keep savings, income, and future investments in the village rather than exporting them to distant utilities. What you can do - Nearby residents: contact the cooperative to learn how membership works and when rooftop solar planning begins - Other villages: use Beli Breg as a template for a multi-household cooperative under Serbia's new energy-community rules - Schools and municipalities: pair cooperative planning with the national energy communities portal for legal steps and peer examples How it works The cooperative plans its first shared solar arrays, roughly ten kilowatts of panels across one or more rooftops, with members deciding jointly how to reinvest revenue. Four development tracks were set at launch: shared solar and lower bills, joint farm equipment, rural tourism, and e-mobility links to the city. Why it matters Community-owned renewables keep money circulating locally. As Serbia opens energy-community legislation, Beli Breg shows how a handful of neighbours can start building energy independence today.energy-cooperativesolarrural +2
