AWASTER for the Adriatic: education, thebusinesses, circular economy to transform waste into a resource
Can waste become a resource for businesses?
And how can young people become drivers of change for the future of the Adriatic region?
These are the questions that inspired the development of AWASTER – Adopting WASTE as a Resource, the project funded by the Interreg Italy-Croatia Programme, in which we took part as a partner between March 2024 and August 2026.
The project was developed by a cross-border partnership comprising theIstrian Regional Energy Agency, lead partner, from theAssociation Sunce of Split, from VeGAL, from GAL 5 with its head office in Korčula, from Municipality of Casarano andour team. Over the course of more than two years’ work, the consortium has promoted educational programmes for schools, pilot initiatives for the local communities and operational tools to support businesses in applying the principles of the circular economy.
Young people as drivers of change
One of the most important aspects of the project was the awareness-raising activities aimed at pupils from schools of various types and levels, who, through practical activities, developed skills and gained an understanding of how their everyday decisions can contribute to protecting the environment.
In particular, during the educational workshops, the pupils learnt how waste can be transformed into new products through 3D printing, how organic waste can be turned into compost, and how everyday habits affect the amount of waste ending up in the environment
Our contribution: the involvement of the SME and the challenge of the reproducibility
Over the two years of the project, particular attention has been paid to the involvement of small and medium-sized enterprises and to strengthening their role in the transition to a circular economy, through a training programme, the exchange of experiences and the presentation of exemplary examples.
We have made available our economic and financial skills to develop guidelines dedicated to the involvement of SMEs and to the organisation of training workshops for entrepreneurs. Our contribution also includes the development of a collection of best practices related to models of sustainable business, conceived to encourage the application of circular economy principles across companies operating in different sectors.
We have also organised two events aimed at the entrepreneurs and stakeholders in the Veneto region : one in collaboration with the Padua Chamber of Commerce – Venicepromex dedicated to manufacturing sector, and another aimed at actors in the agri-food supply chains in collaboration with CibuSalus and Veronamercato, where the main existing regulatory instruments were discussed, along with the benefits ofthe circular economy, it’s been promoted the cooperation between various local stakeholders to promote a more efficient use of resources and thereduction of waste.
Results and prospects of the AWASTER project
The results of this collaborative work have been presented during the international conference held on the island of Korčula on 16 June. The event brought together representatives from the public, educational and business sectors, as well as r egional development agencies and to the civil society organisations from Croatia and Italy.
During the conference, the main results achieved by AWASTER were presented: more than 500 students took part in the educational activities and the EcoLab, hundreds of entrepreneurs took part in the project’s activities and more than 1,600 items of waste were collected from the beaches in the pilot regions thanks to the involvement of local communities.
During the event, the importance of education was emphasised together with the involvement of young people and businesses as drivers of long-term change.
The experience of AWASTER highlights how raising awareness is an important first step, but also points out the importance of cooperation and the joint action between educational institutions, the public sector, businesses and organisations within civil society to to produce lasting results.
“Cross-border cooperation is at the heart of projects of this kind. AWASTER has demonstrated that waste can become a valuable resource , and now it is up to us to transfer the project’s findings to other areas, ensuring that the knowledge gained will live on even after it has ended”, emphasised Marin Miletić regarding the Interreg Italy-Croatia programme.
