Although the Composting in Rural Environments (CORE) project will officially continue until early 2027, its Final Event took place on 21–22 October 2026 in Almagro, Spain. Hosted by project Lead Partner RSUSA, the event brought together project partners and experts to reflect on the project's achievements and discuss the future of biowaste management.
The event opened with welcoming remarks from representatives of regional and provincial authorities, RSUSA and the Interreg Europe Programme. Lead Partner RSUSA then looked back on the CORE journey, highlighting how partner regions and organisations had exchanged knowledge, learned from one another and achieved valuable results in their territories.
This was followed by a presentation from an Interreg Europe Policy Officer entitled “Interreg Europe: Insights on the Present and Future of Interregional Cooperation”, offering insights into the programme's current activities and future perspectives.
A key highlight was the interactive workshop “Drawing on Experiences and Examples from CORE”, chaired by Ramón Plana, PhD. Representatives from the partner territories discussed the project's impact, shared lessons learned and explored how successful practices and knowledge gained through CORE could be transferred and adapted to other regions.
The programme also featured two expert presentations. Inés Iribarren, Technical Advisor at MITECO (Spain's Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge), presented the Spanish Ministerial Order on the treatment of biodegradable waste through domestic, community and agricultural composting. Stefanie Siebert, Executive Director of ECN, provided a European perspective with her presentation “Future Perspectives for Biowaste Management in Europe – An EU Policy Outlook”.
Beyond the livestreamed programme, participants also had the opportunity to explore practical examples during two study visits. At the CTRU Almagro composting facility, they learned about local biowaste treatment. The second visit took them to a Care Centre for People with Intellectual Disabilities (CADI), where food waste is composted on-site, monitored using the Smart Composting app, and the resulting compost is used for planting projects across the municipality of Manzanares.
We would like to sincerely thank RSUSA for hosting the Final Event and all CORE partners for their commitment, collaboration and valuable contributions throughout the project. The exchange of knowledge and experiences across the partner territories has been at the heart of CORE and will continue to inspire more sustainable approaches to biowaste management.
Missed the event? The livestream is still available here: LINK
Further Information about CORE: LINK
