On 28 October 2021, the City of Carcaixent in the Valencian region launched its citizen participatory process to draw their Integrated Solid Municipal Waste Plan (ISWMP), including their roadmap towards Zero Waste within the framework of  MED-InA project.

This participatory process is structured into 3 main phases:

1. Informative session: this 1^st event took place on 28 October, and aimed to present the ISWMP procedure to the local civil society. In addition, an overview of the MED-InA project was given for citizens to understand the context of this action.
2. Thematic participatory session(s): these sessions (one or more, depending on the needs) will be organised in November 2021, and allow citizens to share their experience and needs in terms of waste management. The goal is to take this feedback into account to draw the future scenario of waste management in the city.
3. Final session: this final event will be a recap and presentation of citizens' contribution, and will aim to wrap up the ideas and proposals that will form part of the final ISWMP document. The participatory process is foreseen to be concluded at the end of 2021 or beginning of 2022.

Method used to involve citizens in the ISWMP process:

Transformative dialogue is the methodology chosen: it is a process in which facilitators work with the wide variety of community members to co-create and stimulate improvement in the collective interactions and decision-making.
The next thematic participatory sessions will gather citizens and association representatives in order to discuss and reach an agreement on how an ideal Zero Waste future scenario could be fulfilled with participants' contribution: how they think it would be possible to make it a reality.

Type of citizens attending or showing interest in the process:

Thanks to the improved covid-19 situation, the sessions are taking place physically, which facilitate collective interaction and construction.
The first informative session targeted Carcaixent associations’ representatives, and the following sessions will be open to everyone, expecting to attract as many different citizens as possible.

The municipality has set up a website where participatory information is collected and made available: http://www.municipis2030.es/index.php#!