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COMPOSTING IN LISBON: BINS OF SUCCESS
Tthe Lisbon City Council took a decisive step towards sustainable waste management by distributing composting bins across the city, including to communities and institutions. This pioneering initiative, both in scale and reach, aimed to reduce the amount of organic waste sent to landfill and transform food and garden scraps into a valuable resource for gardens, urban farms, and green spaces.
Today, the results speak for themselves: tonnes of organic matter have been diverted from mixed waste, cutting collection and treatment costs, lowering greenhouse gas emissions, and returning nutrients to the soil.
A Word of Praise
The City Council’s investment in community and home composting has shown vision and commitment to urban sustainability. By providing robust, large‑capacity bins and pairing them with training and support materials, the municipality not only encouraged citizen participation but also created a composting network that is now a model for other cities.
Impact on Waste Reduction
- Less landfill waste: thousands of kilos of organic matter kept out of the general waste stream.
- Lower transport and emissions: fewer collection trips and reduced environmental impact.
- More fertile soil: nutrient‑rich compost used in urban gardens, public parks, and community projects.
How to Compost
Composting is simple and can be done by anyone with access to a bin or composter:
- What to add: fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, eggshells, grass clippings, dry leaves.
- What to avoid: meat, fish, dairy, oils, and cooked foods with fat.
- Maintenance: alternate green layers (fresh waste) with brown layers (dry leaves, twigs), keep the mix moist but not soggy, and aerate regularly.
- Result: in a few months, you’ll have dark, crumbly compost with an earthy smell, ready for pots, gardens, and vegetable beds.
A Greener Future for Beato and to Lisboa
The success of Lisbon’s composting programme shows that small changes, multiplied by many, can have a profound impact. In Beato, this vision can grow even further through other sustainable projects already taking shape:
- A solar energy community involving residents, local businesses, and the Hub Criativo do Beato, cutting bills and emissions — an idea already being tested at the HCB Living Lab.
- Rooftop community gardens on industrial and municipal buildings, producing herbs and flowers and involving schools and associations — like the garden planned for the Factory Lisbon rooftop, which could be replicated elsewhere.
- A circular food system in restaurants, markets, and cultural events, collecting leftovers for composting or donation — a model the HCB is already piloting.
These examples show that sustainability in Beato can become an integrated ecosystem, where energy, food, and waste are transformed into opportunities to reduce costs, improve quality of life, and strengthen community identity.
Beato Residents and Entrepreneurs Association (AMEBEATO)
AMEBEATO represents, promotes, and defends the interests of the residents and entrepreneurs of the parish, contributing to its socio‑economic, sports, environmental, and cultural development. Our dynamic and diverse areas of action reflect the needs of our members — residents, friends, and businesses — ensuring effective and responsive services.
Join us in transforming Beato into a place that unites connection, sustainability, and culture. If you believe in this mission and want to help make it happen, consider making a donation. Every contribution, no matter the size, helps us create more opportunities, strengthen our community, and bring new projects to life. Donations – AMEBEATO
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