Israel: the SCOW project installs new waste composting plant to serve the local community of Kfar Hanasi in Galilee

The SCOW project has installed a new composting facility in the Israeli region of Upper Galilee. The composter can treat up to 20 tons of organic waste a month.

According to Moshe Shalit, a responsible of the SCOW project in Israel, "the composter uses a traditional technique to treat the waste. The organic material is biodegraded through an aerated system. The whole process is controlled by computer."

The output of the composting operation is a natural fertilizer which is transferred to the local community of Kfar Hanasi for agriculture and gardening activities. "At full capacity, the composter should serve about 1,500 inhabitants as well as local business like tourist attractions, hotels and restaurants," explains Moshe Shalit.

Awarness raising and new "door-to-door" collection system 

In the community of Kfar Hanasi, the commissioning of the composter was preceded by an awareness campaign to encourage residents and businesses to sort waste. In addition, a new door-to-door collection was established with the objective of obtaining high quality organic material to be treated in the compositing plant.

"When we started the campaign, about 40% of people living in the community used to sort and recycle waste. Today we are close to 90%. For instance, our kindergarten became green with the kids making their own compost," says Itzik Ben-Dor, in charge of the recycling activities in Kfar Hanasi.

The composter in Kfar Hanasi is one of six plants to be installed in Upper Galilee under the SCOW project. Besides the financial contribution of the ENPI CBC Med Programme, the Israeli Ministry of Environmental Protection also supports the project, highlighting its strategic relevance for local communities in Upper Galilee.

SCOW at a glance

The SCOW project (Selective collection of the organic waste in tourist areas and valiorization in farm composting plants) addresses the challenge of increasing waste production in the Mediterranean due to population growth and development of agricultural activities. The initiative targets tourist areas where collected organic waste will be valorised as compost for farmers. The project also aims to foster new job opportunities created by the collection, transport and treatment processes of waste.

SCOW is led by the Urban Ecology Agency of Barcelona and gathers seven others actors from Italy, Malta, Palestine, Israel and France.

Visit the SCOW website