Agricultural residues such as straw, bank canes and trees pruning constitute a significant load of green waste in rural areas from both sides of the borders. Those wastes are poorly managed causing severe environmental impacts. At the same time local authorities use expensive fossil fuel for space heating of public buildings, and due to the current economic recession, very often the amount of heat generated cannot satisfy the real needs of the building users. The sustainable management of the green waste can offer a real solution in both of the above problems. There is available technology that can utilize agrowastes as fuel for space heating under the only condition that a reliable supply chain is established.

Scope of this project is to establish a supply chain for green wastes, combined with the relevant business model, which will secure its sustainability. The supply chain will be customized according to the wastes that are available from both sides of the border and the business model will be adapted to the specific local conditions. The supply chain will serve selected end users in each country, therefore its operability will be tested and possible problems and barriers will be resolved.

After the completion of the project the following main outputs are expected to be delivered:

The Local Authorities will benefit from the use of a cheap fuel and from the fact that the landscape around will be in order and free from wastes that may cause local pollution or potential fire hazards.

Local farmers will benefit because they will dispose safely their residues and also earn an extra income.

Local population will benefit from the reduction of public expenditure and the improvement of comfort condition in the public buildings.

The supply chain will be customized according to the wastes that are available in each project territory and the business model will be adapted to the specific local conditions. Different conditions across the pilot territories will result to different solutions. The outputs will be complementary and useful in both countries.

The big challenge is to secure a sustainable supply chain and set up a business model that will keep it in operation. A secure supply chain of agrowastes will turn their use as domestic heating fuel to a reliable option and let it penetrate into the market resulting to significant benefits.

The sustainable management of the agrowastes can offer a real solution in both areas. There is available technology that can utilize agrowastes as fuel for space heating under the only condition that a reliable supply chain is established. If this condition is satisfied then cheap renewable fuel can substitute conventional fuel, resulting to reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, mitigation of air pollution, cleaning of rural environment from dangerous wastes, improving the thermal comfort in public buildings and fulfilling the directive for reuse of wastes.

The target group for the dissemination of the results from this project may be farmer unions, boiler manufactures, local authorities from different regions and other heat consumers that may potentially use agrowastes for fuel (greenhouses, agroindustries, etc).