In cooperation with the waste management company Snaga Maribor, we have successfully raised awareness in the community when it comes to sustainable waste management. Another good example can be found in The Sustainable City in Dubai, whose residents have been using Bokashi Organko bins since last summer. Following these two success stories, we continue to spread the practice around Europe and the world. Our next step takes us to the French town of Saint-Omer, where they began using our Organko bins in May.
The municipality of Saint-Omer has decided to encourage sustainable behaviour by covering part of the cost of our kitchen compost bin, Bokashi Organko. Residents are being informed of the project via flyers that contain all necessary information regarding the purchase. Organko bins can be bought at three different sales locations in the city, where customers are asked to fill out a form confirming they are residents of Saint-Omer. By providing the receipt, they are then entitled to a 75% reimbursement of the purchase price.
»In essence, this is a very simple model that could serve as a great example for municipalities in Slovenia and across the globe. The municipality reaches out to the residents by informing them, and then it is up to the residents themselves to decide whether they want to contribute by producing organic waste for composting. Every Saturday, the municipality sets up a large compost container at the local farmer's market, where people can bring their own compost base that they don't intend to use at home. This compost is then used to fertilise the municipal gardens,« says Mira Ramšak Knapič about the project. She is the key account manager at Skaza and together with a French business partner, she has helped implement this idea in practice.
Saint-Omer is a commune located in the northernmost part of France. The town has a population of 15,000 and it boasts a rich cultural and historical heritage going back a thousand years. Once located next to an important trade route between London and Paris, it is still strategically important to this day, as it is located only around 40 kilometers from the Eurotunnel.
In France, the trend of environmental awareness has increased significantly in the past three years, which can partially be attributed to the covid pandemic. Saint-Omer is the first municipality in France that has chosen the bokashi composting method to manage their biowaste, using our very own Bokashi Organko bins. Discussions regarding this type of implementation are currently underway with two Paris prefectures, in cooperation with the Paris chamber of commerce.
