Scaling-up Organic Waste Composting via Working with Students

2024 ∙ Grantový projekt ∙ Aktivní

Our initiative involves imparting knowledge to master’s students at the university on the art of cultivating vegetables, fruits, and herbs using compost. Furthermore, we teach them the techniques of processing these harvests and reintroducing leftover organic materials back into the soil through composting. These university students then disseminate their newfound wisdom to students across secondary, primary, and kindergarten levels. This knowledge is shared through excursions on the university campus and practical demonstrations of community composting held at the university.

By amassing compostable materials, schools and universities can significantly decrease their ecological footprint. Additionally, composting offers boundless educational prospects, aligning with the growing trend of school and university gardens as well as urban gardening.

Our Goals

The project aims to construct two three-chamber composters at partner universities in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, enhancing their capacity for sustainable waste management. It also seeks to develop human capital by training facilitators to conduct eco-educational workshops for children, thereby seeding environmental stewardship from a young age. Initial pilot workshops will engage the broader public, promoting community-wide ecological responsibility and action. This initiative underscores a commitment to embedding sustainability into educational frameworks and local communities.

The project culminated in a press conference attended by the vice-rector SUM dr. sc. Sanja Bijakšić, prof., dean of the faculty APTF dr. sc. Ivan Ostojić, Dean of Agromed. faculty Džemal Bijedić, dr.sc. Alisa Hadžiabulić, prof., Štěpán Šantrůček (Head of Development Cooperation and Consular Affairs), Božena Kaltak (UNDP), Adriana Filipović (biowaste management), Igor Suvorov (Kokoza), Martina Záleská (Kokoza), Jan Smeták (Kokoza).

Sustainability of the Results

Through workshops, students and teachers embraced composting with hands-on techniques like sorting waste, balancing materials, and using compost for planting. Activities such as quizzes, compost creation, and planting succulents empowered participants to adopt composting in their daily lives. Students showed enthusiasm, with many eager to compost at home, while teachers observed a shift in attitudes toward waste as a resource.

At the Faculty of Agriculture and Food Technology, University of Mostar, composting systems were introduced to manage organic waste on-site. With a composter and curriculum integration, students turned leaves, food scraps, and grape pomace into nutrient-rich compost, bridging theory and practice to lead sustainability efforts.

For example, Bartola Kašića Primary School saw a similar transformation, with students learning to compost through interactive workshops. They took home compost cups to observe decomposition, inspiring a new perspective on waste and sustainability. The same applies for the Zalik Secondary and IV Elementary school pupils. Zalik Secondary is located in the vicinity of the Faculty, since the composter is the public, they are already using it for litter disposal. The children had a task to prepare their own compost mixture and then dispose it to the composter.

Lastly, at the Agromediterranean Faculty of the Džemal Bijedić University, workshops established structured composting and fostered collaboration with nearby schools, creating a community-driven approach to sustainable waste management.

Press and Media Outputs

“Scaling-up Organic Waste Composting via Working with Students” is organized by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), with the financial support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic.

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