The management of the organic fraction in rural areas with low-density population is environmentally and economically impactful. A contaminating and expensive process is required to collect, transport and treat small amounts of organic waste dispersed in distant and sparsely populated villages. 

Prevention of biowaste and the normalization of quality composting could contribute to the drastic reduction of this fraction and of the effects derived from its management. The compost produced can be used as soil-improving material and fertilizer in local and regional parks and gardens or in the form of biogas, while further uses could be promoted.Despite the fact that regional and local policies observe all the transition to circular economy and guide the transitioning of the waste management sector towards it, composting is often not suffi ciently developed, notwithstanding its potential to comply not only with circular economy but also with the mitigation of climate change. 

CORE intends to be an accelerator for rural territories to develop composting a lot more so that in the mid-term the organic fraction and the effects associated to it could drastically decrease.The project brings together regional and local administrations with competences on biowaste management from 8 rural regions from all over Europe, with the aim of exchanging their experiences on composting. The European Compost Network (ECN) accompanies them in the role of advisory partner.Contrary to previous projects that focused on the prevention of food waste and some composting experiences, CORE focuses specifi cally on composting in rural environments, paying particular attention to the particularities of the topic in these scenarios. Given that rural territories are regarded as visible fl agships for environmental values, it is hoped their leadership in fostering composting through CORE will be inspirational for other territories that might look at them attracted by those values.

• Municipal Solid Waste of Castilla La Mancha Ltd. RSUSA (lead partner – Spain)
• LfU State Office of Environment Brandenburg (Germany)
• VLACO npo (Belgium)
• Świętokrzyskie Region – Marshal Offi ce of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (Poland)
• CTRIA - Central Transdanubian Regional Innovation Agency Nonprofit Ltd. (Hungary)
• Autonomous Province of Bolzano – Alto Adige. Environmental and Climate Protection Agency. WasteManagement Office. (Italy)
• Municipality of Söderhamn (Sweden)
• Region of Western Macedonia. Directorate of Development Planning (Grecce)
• European Compost Network ECN e.V. (Germany)