On last August 3rd the technical and steering committee meetings of COOP-VERD project were held in Nabeul (Tunisia). The project is coordinated by the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona, in cooperation with MedCities, the Nabeul Municipality and the local association ETE+, and financed by the Barcelona Municipality. At this meeting the partners validated the pilot project to be implemented at the Neapolis neighbourhood in Nabeul in order to promote recycling and green employment and to improve the working conditions of informal waste collectors (chiffonniers).

In the framework of the pilot project, that is currently being executed, the Nabeul Municipality prepared and made available to ETE+ a green point for plastic collection in the city centre in order to facilitate the work of the chiffonniers. The collectors that participate in the project will start working from October 2017 with medical and social coverage; as well as with appropriate hygienic conditions, including uniforms, vaccination campaigns and training in labour risks. In order to give added value to the plastic collected and thus improve the revenue of this activity, the green point was provided with a pressing machine to transform the plastic into pressed bales.

In parallel, COOP-VERD has been working with the residents in the pilot neighbourhood through a communication campaign in order to encourage the separation and recycling at the source, as well as in a participation process for the installation of recycling points for plastic in the neighbourhood.

This project, ending next December 2017, also aims to organising informal waste collectors into an association or formal enterprise; this challenge will be dealt with during the next months, in parallel with the pilot project.