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 small municipalities, those with fewer than 5.000 inhabitants. This picture emerges from Legambiente's 31st "Comuni Ricicloni" report, the annual study that analyzes Italian municipalities' commitment to separate waste collection.
The environmentalist association defines "Riciclone Municipality" which keeps the per capita production of unsorted waste below 75 kilos per inhabitant per year.
In 2023, 698 local governments received this recognition, 11% more than the 629 in 2022. Northern Italy remains at the forefront, with 434 virtuous municipalities, but the South makes a significant 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.
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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) declined. 10.309.187 citizens have urban waste management services organized at the consortium level and have achieved the goal of 65% separate waste collection.
As proof of a functional and efficient model, the rankings show as many as 13 Rifiuti Free consortia that have kept the production of waste sent for disposal to within 75 kilos per inhabitant per year.
"The new data reconfirms the importance of focusing on large cities, where collection systems (such as door-to-door) that combine quality and prevention of waste disposal are struggling to spread," says Giorgio Zampetti, general director of Legambiente.
It is necessary to strengthen the organization at the consortium level, to ensure an adequate and widespread network of facilities for recycling and waste treatment."
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