4.1. Social Willingness on Separating Biogenic Waste (OHW)
Since OHW made up almost two-thirds of the total waste (see
Figure 3), it was necessary to determine the willingness of the inhabitants of Marneuli to separate the organic portion in the household. Furthermore, the willingness of the local authority for practical implementation and the policy for setting the framework for a separate collection of organic waste from households and the weekly market, as well as from the food processing industry, had to be determined.
Analyses of data from surveys in Armenia and Georgia have shown that the willingness to separate different waste fractions is most significant among Azeris and Georgians, followed by Armenians and other ethnic groups [
23]. From the data collected in this study, with a total of 89% Azeris and Georgians, the hypothesis could thus be established that, in Marneuli, a great willingness to separate the organic waste fraction was to be expected in the:
group of up to 40-year-olds in 273 households,
group of 40–60-year-olds in 135 households, and
group of over 60-year-olds in 102 households.
Among the people who spoke for one of the 510 households surveyed, the under 40-year-olds were most strongly represented, with a total of 273 households. The group of 40–60-year-olds with 135 and over 60-year-olds with 102 households were significantly smaller, but overall, the number of households with up to 40-year-olds were almost balanced with 273 and those with over 40-year-olds with 237 households. Although a different value system, in general, could be expected between these two large age groups, the question of resource-conserving waste management under discussion here should be assessed similarly. These results, on the one hand, form a future orientation of the younger age group, and on the other hand, form an absolute value conservatism of the older group.
As far as the gender question is concerned, in the present study, 319 women and 191 men appeared as spokespersons for the respective households in the 510 households surveyed. This showed a clear dominance of females, and if the result for the householder was added, it became clear that the female part of society would significantly influence the willingness to separate organic waste in the households. After all, 59.3% of householders were women and only 0.4% men. The share of grandparents, at 25.5%, was also not to be underestimated, and this was likely to be primarily the grandmothers again. Children should also not be neglected, with a share of 14.8%. However, the question of the gender of the youth was not asked, but it could be assumed that this included girls to a significant, if not exclusive, extent.
The findings showed that so far, only a tiny proportion of the population—namely, 6.3% (32 out of 510 households)—separated household waste, mainly for the paper (3.3%) and, to a lesser extent, also for plastics (1.0%). Only in one household (0.2%) was the organic material sorted and used as animal feed. The paper was used exclusively for incineration (3.3%) and with plastic, there was a possibility to wash out the bottles and then sell them for reuse (0.8%). Accordingly, the separation of waste is not a common practice in Georgia and would constitute a significant change in behavior for the inhabitants of Marneuli.
However, it could be assumed that garden owners would at least recycle the organic waste generated in their gardens through composting. Of the 510 households surveyed, 184 (36.1%) had a garden. These were mainly found in Zones III, IV, and V (
Figure 2), which could be explained by the settlement structure. Ninety-eight gardens (53.3%) with a size of 1000–3000 m
2, represented the largest group, followed by 46 gardens (25%) with a size of 300–1000 m
2. These gardens were cultivated as mixed gardens with fruit, vegetables, and ornamental plants (shrubs and flowers). There were even six mixed gardens (3.3%) in the sizes of 3000–5000 m
2. The 34 gardens (18.5%) of less than 300 m
2 were generally cultivated as ornamental gardens (flowers, shrubs) (
Table 3).
It is worth noting, however, that OHW was also disposed of as normal waste by the 184 garden owners—in this case, 172 households (93.0%). Eight households (4.3%) fed this OHW to animals, and only five households (2.7%) composted this waste (
Table 4).
The eight households that fed the OHW to animals were all those with mixed gardens of up to 5000 m
2. The five pig farmers (fattening six pigs), the individual goat farmer (four goats), and the individual cow farmer (two cows) were probably primarily responsible for this. To a lesser extent, the individual keeper of 22 laying hens and one cock was likely to feed them organic waste. Among the other pets, the owners of dogs (46) and cats (31) stood out; otherwise, birds (seven owners), fish, rabbits, and white mice (one owner each) were also kept. For the present investigations, however, only the eight keepers of farm animals were relevant because the organic waste from the garden could be fed to these animals. However, this affected only 1.6% of the population and was, therefore, negligible for the concept of OHW composting. Furthermore, it was not clear whether the animal excreta were disposed of in the waste again. These would then probably also end up in the container for organic waste. The statement about the high willingness to separate organic waste and make it available for OHW composting is worth noting (
Table 5).
4.2. Social-Technical Know-How and the Perception of the Risk
This high willingness to accept technological innovation and to play an active part in it could, therefore, not be explained by the integration into an existing system [
48], because the vast majority of households had not yet separated their waste, nor had they composted organic waste in households with gardens. On the contrary, they were disposed of almost exclusively with household waste and, under the current disposal system, ended up in the landfill with the environmental burdens. The introduction of OHW composting in this case already presupposed “a technical and individual change” [
48]. The willingness was, therefore, more likely to be sought in an existing system of values and objectives that was influenced, on the one hand, by the gender situation described above and, on the other hand, by the level of education and the level of information provided.
The level of education shown in
Table 6 applied to the spokesperson in the survey of the household selected following the announcement of the survey. Given the close cohesion in a household and the intensive communication associated with it, it could be assumed that the entire household could be included in terms of willingness to separate organic waste.
By observing the community, the perception of risks could trace the level of sensitivity and experiences of environmental pollution and vulnerabilities of the socio-ecological system in the local areas [
15,
49]. The information available via television, social media, and via the Internet should also not be underestimated. This was evident from the answers to questions concerning knowledge of the potential environmental problems arising from the current landfilling of waste at Marneuli of the 510 households surveyed. Most of the people (98–99%) suspected problems in the areas of general pollution, groundwater pollution, air pollution, waste of resources, and human health (
Table 7). The introduction of the technical innovation of the separate collection and composting of OHW appeared to reduce the environmental impact significantly and negatively impacted human health caused or presumed to be caused by the current practice of landfilling.
4.3. Social-Willingness for Using OHW
Fertilizer can be delivered from farm manure, but also from other organic waste that is returned to the nutrient cycle of the farm, as well as commercial mineral fertilizers. The usage of compost from OHW represents a straightforward possible adaptation in fertilization practice nowadays. The talks with the members of the farmers’ organization ELKANA (more than 900 small and medium organic farms) delivered positive feedback for using OHW compost on their land.
In the first step, a sample of the compost from the experiments in Marneuli was presented to the farmers, analogous to the procedure used by the mayors of the Kvemo Kartli region, and the data on the valuable ingredients of the compost (nutrient content, organic mass, or humus content) were conveyed to them by a PowerPoint presentation. The supply of organic matter associated with the fertilization of compost was also positively evaluated, as the soils around Marneuli are impoverished in humus and, therefore, highly endangered by erosion [
50]. From the results of the composting and plant cultivation trials at the University of Kassel/Witzenhausen, which resulted in a recommendation of 10 Mg compost per ha/year or 30 Mg compost per ha depending on the crop in a three-year rhythm, the practitioners present declared their willingness to use compost. Concerning pricing, it became clear that the farmers would accept a price for the compost in the amount of the nutrient it contained if the compost was delivered free of charge to the edge of the field. The practitioners present (
n = 17) represented a total agricultural area of 106 ha and, with fertilization to the extent mentioned above, a compost requirement of 1060 Mg per year. This left a residual quantity of 190 Mg per year for marketing as compost for the hobby sector, in which, a much higher added value could be achieved than in agriculture. The field data revealed that the population of Marneuli was particularly in demand as a buyer of compost for the hobby sector.
4.4. Concerns and Potentialities from the Point of the Decision-Makers
In discussion with the governor, particular emphasis was, therefore, placed on the possible maximization of benefits through the consistent application of the circular economy and its implementation in the form of the cradle-to-cradle principle. In this research project, analyses (waste analysis; analysis of the acceptance of technological innovation) and design (planning and establishment of the separate collection and composting of organic household waste) are at the forefront of institutional economics and, thus, served to generate common benefits through cooperation in the sense of economics. The discussion with the politically responsible people in the district (district administrator, deputy) was of particular importance, as they are responsible for the landfill and the disposal of the household waste of the city of Marneuli.
The first round of talks in the responsible authority served to analyze the population structure and population density, as well as the area coverage of the individual urban areas. The discussions within the framework of the interviews with the governor, the district administrator, and the deputy district administrator (n = 3), as well as with the mayors (n = 20) of the Kvemo Kartli region on the occasion of a Mayor’s Service Meeting has been positive. The employees of the authority were also aware of the environmental problems arising from the landfill. However, the only disposal route was via the landfill. The need for extensive public relations work did not appear to exist among the participants. The officers pointed out that the authority defined the service life of the 6 hectares of landfill until 2020.
In the discussion with the authorities, the following concerns emerged when constructing the OHW composting plant:
the information concerning the distance from the city to the landfill,
the road condition and the number of collection vehicles, and
the number of employees involved in waste collection.
The need for comprehensive public relations work did not appear to exist among the participants. However, in the event of implementation, measures should be taken promptly in relation to the advertisement for OHW compost on the collection vehicles in Marneuli.
Since the district is not only responsible for the city of Marneuli, it was agreed in the meeting with the district administrator to present the research project, and the results of the investigations were carried out to all mayors of the Kvemo Kartli region. The authorities were open towards innovation in the field of waste management. On the one hand, the results of the survey of the inhabitants of Marneuli, who welcomed the introduction of this technical innovation, were beneficial for the willingness of the decision-makers, as they expected a significant reduction in the environmental impacts they expected. However, the prerequisite was an acceptable economic efficiency within the framework of the municipal budget of the individual towns and municipalities in the Kvemo Kartli region and the town of Marneuli. To achieve the economically optimal amount of organic waste of 6500 Mg for the OHW composting plant in Marneuli, the results of the study in Marneuli showed that, in addition to the 28,000 inhabitants, further municipalities had to be connected to reach the target size of 80,000 inhabitants. The mayors being present at the meeting from small towns and municipalities agreed to collect the OHW separately and to transport it to the OHW composting plant in Marneuli. However, the main lacuna is the gap between the public hearing and political decision at a local level.