Citizen science Sustainability

HOOP, Hub of circular cities boosting platform to foster investments for the valorisation of urban biowaste and wastewater

Budget:

SFC:

Partner

Consortium:

23 partners in 10 countries

Duration:

2020-2024

Program:

H2020

The HOOP project supports 8 European cities and regions in developing large-scale urban circular bioeconomy initiatives that will focus on recovering valuable resources from urban biowaste and wastewater to make bio-based products.Driving the agenda of the Circular Economy Action Plan, as the main pillar of the European Green Deal, HOOP provides direct Project Development Assistance (PDA) to municipalities to develop their administrative, technical, economic, financial and legal capacities.

Many quadruple helix stakeholders are working hand in hand on the transition to circularity. In the framework of HOOP, we facilitate dialogue between them in Biowaste Clubs to co-design innovative strategies. In addition, we are conducting citizen science interventions using digital tools to engage citizens in this process.

Project challenge

Did you know that in Europe we throw away 200 kg of biowaste per person per year? Of this, only the 33% is recycled. The remaining 67% is dumped or incinerated, emitting gases that pollute the planet. The recovery systems currently in place are characterised by low efficiency, wasting many potentially useful resources.

Better waste management would generate environmental, social and economic benefits. However, due to legal, administrative, technical and financial obstacles, cities often do not provide the necessary conditions for the implementation of circular economy strategies and the production of innovative bio-based products.

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Solutions

HOOP aims to act as a catalyst in the transition towards the urban bioeconomy by providing assistance to 8 European cities and regions.

The project will test and evaluate measures to boost processes for the valorisation of the organic fraction of solid waste and urban sewage sludge. The PDAs are aligned with the local circular economy strategies of each region and will allow concrete investments for the implementation and application of the measures.

At Science for Change, we ensure the participation of local actors and we are in charge of facilitating the co-creation and evaluation sessions of the measures to be implemented. We have also designed a digital citizen science game adapted to each of the 8 HOOP cities to optimise the selective collection of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste. During the game, citizens have to train an avatar whose mission is to convert organic waste from their city into useful bioproducts. The decisions of the participants throughout the game will allow us to better understand the perception of the neighborhood in the region on the separation of biowaste, the acceptance of products made from biowaste and their proposals to build a greener and more circular environment. The data collected through the game will be openly discussed with 4H actors in the Biowaste Clubs.

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Results

The measures implemented by the HOOP lighthouse cities serve as a pilot for the network of follower cities that will try to replicate the actions to improve their circular economy strategies. The results are being shared through the Urban Circular Bioeconomy Hub, a platform that aims to promote the replicability of the implemented measures and facilitate the exchange of good practices through a series of self-assessment tools and a virtual academy. In addition, the project has created the HOOP Circularity Label in order to assess the application of circular measures implemented by cities.