The City of Amalfi is becoming increasingly eco-sustainable thanks to the implementation of new technologies for waste sorting. Following the deployment of smart bins located throughout the historic center and along the seafront, the new "Plastic Mangia" (Plastic Manger), an eco-compactor dedicated to collecting PET plastic bottles, will be operational starting Wednesday, January 17, 2024.
Located in Piazza Spirito Santo, the new machine was entirely financed with a contribution of approximately 29 thousand euros assigned by the Ministry for Ecological Transition following the choice of the Municipal Administration of Amalfi , led by Mayor Daniele Milano, to join the "Experimental Plastic-Eating Program".
"The goal we intend to achieve is to reduce plastic waste production, promote selective collection, and improve waste collection and recycling in a circular economy context ," explains Councilor Ilaria Cuomo . " The eco-compactor is very simple and quick to use and will have a positive impact on waste sorting, but it's important that all citizens do their part by using it for the purpose we decided to install it for. We want to give people the opportunity to have cleaner streets with less plastic."
The eco-compactor, in fact, collects only PET bottles and is activated by bringing your health card close to the optical reader on the barcode side. Once the user is enabled to use the device, he or she can insert the bottle with the barcode facing upwards. For faster operation, an app is also available for both IOS and Android systems (Mangiaplastica Green Points) that allows each user, after registration, to monitor their own disposals.
In this case, the machine will be able to work even without the use of a health card and more simply by generating a QR code to be scanned with your smartphone and which allows the profile to be linked to the tax code of each user. For the future, reward mechanisms for virtuous behavior are being studied: the “Mangiaplastica” device is in fact enabled to allow users to deliver plastic bottles, accumulating “green points” for each delivery.
