Italian municipalities are making progress on waste sorting. Northern ones are ahead, but Southern ones are making up for lost time.
The most virtuous, however, are the small municipalities, those with less than 5.000 inhabitants. The picture emerges from the 31st “Comuni Ricicloni” report by Legambiente, the annual research that analyses the commitment of Italian municipalities to separate waste collection.
The environmentalist association defines “Common Recycler” which keeps the per capita production of unsorted waste below 75 kilos per inhabitant per year.
In 2023, 698 local administrations were awarded this recognition, 11% more than the 629 in 2022. Northern Italy remains at the forefront, with 434 virtuous municipalities, but the South makes a great comeback, reaching 231 municipalities, 23,8% more than in 2022.
The Centre is still at a standstill, with 33 municipalities: last year there were 30. The best in managing urban waste are the municipalities with less than 5.000 inhabitants: there are 450 of them out of the total of Recycling Municipalities.
In the ranking, those between 5.000 and 15.000 inhabitants are 196, those over 15.000 and the provincial capitals are 148. At the top, also in this edition, are the municipalities of the Northeast: Treviso, Belluno, Trento and Pordenone.
Among the regions, Veneto confirms its first place in the ranking for the number of virtuous municipalities (173), followed by Lombardy (101, +27 compared to the last edition) and Campania (83, +22 compared to the last edition).
Sardinia (+18) and Abruzzo (+9) also recorded growth. Trentino-Alto Adige (-9) and Piedmont (-10) instead dropped. There are 10.309.187 citizens whose urban waste management service is organized at a consortium level and has reached the objective of 65% separate waste collection.
As proof of a functional and efficient model, in the rankings there are 13 Rifiuti Free consortia that have contained the production of waste sent for disposal within 75 kilos per inhabitant per year.
“The new data confirms how essential it is to focus on large cities, where collection systems (such as door-to-door) that combine quality and prevention of waste sent for disposal are struggling to spread,” says Giorgio Zampetti, general director of Legambiente.
It is necessary to strengthen the organization at the consortium level, for an adequate and widespread network of plants for recycling and waste treatment".
Article published on 4 July 2024 - 18:47
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