Composting: Sustainable Use of Resources, Circular Economy and a Solution Against Desertification in Tunisia

In areas like the desertic oasis of Tunisia, circular economy is not merely an option: it is a necessity, seen the scarcity of natural resources and the rapid disappearance of the existing ones. The project “Les Oasis de El Ouidane” was born, thanks to the funding of the “Otto per Mille” of the Waldensian Church, with the intent to systematically collect the organic fraction of waste in the small municipality of Degache and to build a composting site where this fraction could be treated and transformed into compost. The experiment has succeeded and represents a virtuous example of circular economy and optimization of local resources. The results: production of quality compost that is currently used in the date palm grove, organically cultivated, of the municipality; stable employment for the municipal operators in charge of organic waste collection and composting site management; a better quality for the dry waste fraction that can be recycled by informal pickers; last but not least, an improvement of hygienic-sanitary conditions.