Basic concepts: Reduce, Reuse, Rethink, Recycle. Creating pratical working spaces, spaces that connect people, things and ideas. Working with the whole community to minimise waste by education and reclaming resources, reusing locally to give them a longer life with minimum carbon foot print.
Community working spaces, creating jobs, sustainable products and art works, at the same time as looking after our place, each other and having fun.

In the municipality of Marvão, heart of the Serra de São Mamede, Portugal.

One of the most depopulated, ageing and impoverished regions in Europe.
It presents very high levels of social and ecological vulnerability, witch place it in a critical scenario in view of the profound disruptive changes that we, as a society, are globally facing: climate change, depopulation of the rural environment.
The capitalist sistem we live in is creating more and more, and more waste in the world. Our challenge is to find solutions locally that hopefully will inspire globally, as we have been inspired by others.
Waste produced per person in Portugal
Marvão 2002 to 2018 waste increased 800% – 88,1 kg/hab
Portugal 2002 to 2018 waste increased 500%– 103,5 Kg/hab
As the statistics show waste is increasing at an alarming rate everywhere and locally is a urgent problem.

The local community of the municipality.
Marvão has:
a very high ageing index, with 35 elderly people for every 10 young people in 2011.
one of the lowest rates per capita of purchasing power in the surrounding areas.
Alentejo ranks 284 of 290 in a ranking that examined the demographic situation and the future of the regions of Europe alongside their economic potential to deal with it.
Alentejo is considered as one of the regions in Europe with the least capacity of adaptation to mitigate climate change.
The 100% of the territory of the municipality of Marvão is protected within the Red Natura 2000 and is regarded as a High Nature Value Farmland. It is considered that between 1951 and 2015 its runoff during the driest month of the year has suffered a decline of more than 20%.

Step by step:
1. With local counsil talking about the recycling issues and solutions.
2. Buildings for ZeroWaste center (we have already one in mind).
3. Pick up and transport of materials and workers.
4. Suport from local businesses: financial sponsorship and cooperation in recycling services.
5. To open ZeroWaste Center we have motivated and fun people, both staff and collaborators
6. we will require material and equipment for sorting center, shop, workshop and education/communication. Obviously we will recylce where possible.
7. Discuss with schools and institutions how to work together about waste solutions.
8. Make local campains to improve awareness in the community

A new awareness of waste issues in the whole community people and institutions forming new habits, cosuming less, making less waste, taking responsability both individually and as a community. A more active, comunicative, and happy population. That has not only created jobs improving the local economy, but also a clean and happy ecosystem.

Success would be that in one year time there has been a big social impact made by this community wich ZeroWaste is part of.

With horizontal governance bringing together the community (local counsil, businesses, private homes, schools, associations, events etc). Taking responsability, making decitions and to make real action. To reduce, rethink and recycle waste as a community. Sociocracia, like minded groups working together democratically, dealing with the waste problem.
Take awareness of our waste problem, we are the solution, as a community we have the power to find solutions. ZeroWaste will function by local participation, Education, changing consumer and waste habits.
We seek to promote new forms of attracting and fixing population by focus on generation of opportunities, supporting and promoting social-ecological initiatives that deepen in new models of redistributive and regenerative economy.

The people who lead this project are part of the local community and, therefore, of the territory. Some of us were born here and others come from aboard.
Climate change is real, we are responsable, we have children, we must do something, waste is one of the big problems.
We believe making change locally has an efect globally

Personal costs:
Administration 1x person: 12.000 €
Technical coordenation 1xperson: 12.000€
Workshop facilitators: 6.000€

General costs:
- website: 2.000 €
- Office expences and computers: 5.500 €
Rent: 3000 €
Machines for recycling and upcycling: 8000€
Other costs: 1500€

Perhaps the most interesting thing for us is knowing if other agents or projects would be interested in connecting in some way with our project to carry out an effective exchange of information, experience and knowledge about the projects