Intermunicipal strengthening of composting in Costa Rica: Turrialba – Pérez Zeledón case study

Costa Rica has implemented a national decarbonization plan and a national composting plan that define specific actions and targets to be achieved by 2050. This project focuses on two municipalities that have demonstrated leadership in addressing this issue: Turrialba and Pérez Zeledón.

In Turrialba, the local government launched a composting pilot program in 2023 with technical assistance from the Skat Foundation (Switzerland) and ACEPESA (Costa Rica). After the plant design was approved, the first phase of a forced aeration composting facility was constructed from March to July 2025. Meanwhile, Pérez Zeledón has served as a national example since 2012 with its centralized municipal composting system, which includes process monitoring and quality control. The system was developed as part of the Repic pilot project, "Sustainable Management of Organic Waste in Pérez Zeledón, Costa Rica" (2019–2022). The project has proven that efficient, large-scale composting plants can be set up at the municipal level.

The project's main goal is to create a replicable, comprehensive, inclusive, and sustainable model for municipal organic waste management using composting technologies in Turrialba and Pérez Zeledón. A Swiss expert team consisting of Ecopartner (the international coordinator), FiBL, and Biomass Switzerland will provide technical advice to strengthen composting processes, produce high-quality compost, estimate and monitor greenhouse gas emission reductions, assess the potential for carbon sequestration in the soil, promote the use of compost in crops, and disseminate knowledge. Collaborating with ACEPESA and technicians trained in Pérez Zeledón will promote intermunicipal exchange of best practices and encourage cross-sector partnerships. The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG), the Institute for Municipal Development and Advisory Services (IFAM), and the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE) will support the future replication of this initiative at the national level.

• REPIC (Renewable Energy, Energy and Resource Efficiency Promotion in Developing and Transition Countries)

• State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO – Economic Cooperation and Development

• Ecopartner GmbH, Switzerland
• Biomasse Suisse, Switzerland
• Asociación Centroamericana para la Economía, la Salud y el Ambiente (ACEPESA), Costa Rica
• Municipality of Turrialba, Costa Rica
• Municipio de Pérez Zeledón, Costa Rica
• Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganadería (MAG), Costa Rica
• Institut für kommunale Entwicklung und Beratungsdienste (IFAM), Costa Rica
• Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE), Costa Rica

• Fuchs Jacques (Department of Crop Sciences)

Project Partner

• Plant Protection: Phytopathology & Entomology (Department of Crop Sciences, FiBL Switzerland)