Developing a Strategy for Organic Waste Management in Buenos Aires

This project aims to support:  

• A review of the current policies, laws, and programs related to organic waste management of the city, state, and country as well as an inventory of the current organic waste management system   
• The development of organic waste management strategy, which includes strategies for organic waste diversion based on sectors with a special focus on food waste as well as recommendations for separate collection and transportation of organic waste, including on different types of separate collection schemes, collection vehicles, frequencies, and integration with residual waste collection.  
• The formulation of recommendations on:
     
  • Targets for the separation of organic waste in the city,  
  • Appropriate organic waste treatment technologies and type of facilities, including recommendations on siting and scaling up existing facilities,  
  • The uses of organic waste treatment products based on quality and composition,  
  • Policy changes at the local and national level to successfully implement the organic waste management strategy, including on composting standard national requirements. 

This project will also produce an estimation of the potential SLCP emissions reductions of implementing the organic waste management strategy, an evaluation of the costs to implement the strategy, and a document with recommendations on how to communicate the organic waste management strategy with the relevant stakeholders.

The City of Buenos Aires has long been a leader in Latin America in finding innovative ways to improve waste management. In 2005, the City Council in Buenos Aires, Argentina unanimously passed a Zero Waste law, “Integral Management of Solid Urban Waste.” The law established ambitious goals and milestones to reduce the amount of municipal solid waste sent to landfill disposal. Since 2015, the city government has implemented different projects regarding organic waste management, such as: 

• Zero Food Waste Programme 
• A food waste composting facility in the recycling center 
• A mechanical and biological treatment facility 
• Three in-situ composting centers for yard waste generated in big parks 

These actions were developed without consideration for long-term public policy on handling organic waste. Moreover, a large amount of organic waste is still sent daily to landfills, generating leachate and greenhouse gases, including methane. 

The government of the city of Buenos Aires has requested CCAC assistance to study and analyze the solutions to handle organic waste through the development of long-term public policies, such as an organic waste strategy.