Costa Rica - Implement a roadmap to improve organic waste management and reduce methane emissions

Rationale

Costa Rica’s 2020 NDC identifies action areas for sectors in transport, agriculture, energy, waste, and more. In the waste sector Costa Rica launched the Action Plan for Integrated Waste Management in 2019. The plan’s main areas for action include reducing waste at the source, waste sorting and collection, and recovery. 

This Action Plan is also intended to generate other policy products such as the National Composting Plan as well as a strategy to implement best technological practices to reduce methane from organic waste, to be published in 2022.  

This project will aim to provide targeted support to the municipalities of Costa Rica, who have a legal responsibility to manage waste on a in its territory. Capacity building support will seek to provide municipalities with technical assistance to include specific and quantifiable targets for the management of organic waste and methane reductions and strengthen skills for the preparation of feasibility studies. 

Other key stakeholders are IFAM (Institute of Municipal Development and Advisory), and private sector stakeholders involved in organic waste technology for composting and biogas.

This project will support methane mitigation in Costa Rica by implementing actions to improve organic waste management in line with Costa Rica's commitment under the Global Methane Pledge to contribute to a global methane mitigation target of 30% by 2030 (2020 baseline). 

Objectives

This project aims to:

• Strengthen the capacity of Costa Rican Municipalities to implement organic waste management projects and reduce methane emissions by the end of the project or soon after, supported by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Environment and Energy of Costa Rica.
• Enable Municipalities in Costa Rica to endorse strategies to reduce emissions from organic waste with specific targets and implementation pathways (including financial plans).
• Implement organic waste management demonstration projects by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Environment and Energy.

Activities

To achieve these objectives, the project will:
 

• Develop directives that guide local governments to meet organic waste management goals in alignment with the Global Methane Pledge and other national and international commitments.
• Develop a proposal of indicators to monitor actions carry out by Local Governments regarding separate waste collection and management of organic waste is presented to the National Comptroller (Contraloría General de la República) to be considered under the Municipal Performance Indicators System.
• Develop strategies for at least 10 municipalities to reduce emissions from organic waste with specific goal and implementation as well as financial plans to achieve the goals.
• Develop feasibility studies for approximately 10 organic waste projects.
• Develop implementation plans for three organic waste projects.
• Develop estimations of the methane emissions mitigation potential for the projects implemented or to be implemented in the framework of this project.
• Conduct awareness activities on the contribution of organic waste projects to methane emissions mitigation and the contribution to the NDC.

Project Updates

The Government of Costa Rica published a decree regarding the regionalized management of ordinary solid waste. This update of the Regulation on the Management of Ordinary Solid Waste aligns with the projects objectives and provides a stronger backing for the organic waste monitoring indicators in the country. It specifies compliance aspects particularly for organic waste, including:

• Selective collection and recovery targets for organic waste are set incrementally for the next five years, with actions that must be integrated into the Municipal Comprehensive Waste Management Plans.
   
• Technical requirements for organic waste collection trucks, to ensure safety and public health protection.
   
• Provisions regarding the location of organic waste treatment facilities, to prevent negative impacts on nearby communities.
   
• Documentary and technical requirements for construction plans of projects dedicated to organic waste treatment.
   
• Operational requirements for organic waste treatment, applicable to both waste managers and generators.
   

Technical Guide: Planning the Management of Organic Waste in Municipalities.

This guide is developed as a practical tool for municipal authorities and citizens committed to waste management. The purpose of the guide is to strengthen the planning of actions for the integrated management of organic waste within municipal plans, while also supporting compliance with national and international commitments for the mitigation of greenhouse gases—particularly methane.

The guide aims to serve as a practical resource for municipal authorities and citizens committed to waste management, with the goal of facilitating the expansion of actions that promote organic waste management in Costa Rica.

Read more about the project

Strategies to reduce emissions from organic waste management in municipalities in Costa Rica

Within the framework of the project, technical assistance was provided by Cegesti to 10 municipalities to support the development of strategies aimed at reducing emissions from organic waste management projects. Thanks to the commitment of the environmental managers from the supported municipalities, it was possible to define actions to strengthen local capacities and promote integrated organic waste management. The assistance was based on the “Technical Guide: Planning Organic Waste Management in Local Governments”, a document aimed at municipal authorities and citizens committed to sustainability. This guide facilitates the replication and strengthening of actions that promote more efficient and circular management of organic waste at the municipal level.

The support was structured through virtual working sessions, which enabled the development of an initial diagnosis of organic waste generation, an analysis of the local context to identify existing actions for organic waste valorization at the cantonal level, the key stakeholders involved, as well as existing opportunities and threats. These sessions also provided dedicated spaces to jointly build, together with each Municipal Environmental Manager, a strategic perspective. As a result, the 10 municipalities now have defined strategic proposals, including objectives, performance indicators, and a portfolio of improvement projects, aligned with the specific context of each canton and promoting a more efficient and circular management of organic waste.

Promoting the management of organic waste

CEGESTI is working to strengthen national capacities, optimize waste management and advance towards compliance with environmental commitments related to the reduction of methane emissions

Project Reference: [CR-23-003] Costa Rica - Implement a roadmap to improve organic waste management and reduce methane emissions