Extend to 31st of October the deadline for the application forms to join the EWWR 2012

by Francesca Morra


The European Week for Waste Reduction is proceeding at full speed and just the impetus of public’s will, led the Italian organizers (Aica and the Italian Organizing committee) to extend to 31st of October the deadline for the application forms to join the EWWR 2012. The fourth edition of the week has the support of CONAI and CIC for the Italian coordination.

The goal is to achieve and, why not, overcome, more than 960 actions counted last year in Italy. From this point of view, the organizers are very positive and they expect the boom of the arrival of membership cards around November, 1st, in a perfect Italian-style. Participating in large number is important to spread what the "Week" wants to convey: “You can reduce waste, concretely and simply, by implementing daily measures" as stated in the last press release and as evidenced by Facebook.

This spirit of sharing objectives led to plan new common actions across Europe. This year the Organizing Committee will allow all who want to take part in the week, but do not know how, to make three common actions: NoTrash Mob, Freeze or "Build EWWR logo". To find out how to join, on the official website of the "Week" you can find explanations for each common action. "With these actions, we want to further immerse the audience," explain the Organizing Secretariat "also attracting the media."
New this year is the establishment of national awards. In fact, for each category will be awarded a Project Developer. They have to show that they have achieved the objectives of the "Week" in visibility and communicational aspects, in originality, quality of content and focus on waste prevention; reproducibility of the action and follow-up terms of long-term impact. The award ceremony will take place with the support of Sartori Ambiente, Edizioni Ambiente, Ecostore and General Beverage. Also this year, with the collaboration of Evvivanoè art exhibitions of Cherasco (Cuneo), the winners receive a handwork created specifically for the awards.

All those who want to keep themselves connected about the European Week for Waste Reduction developments can visit the official website and the Facebook page, with the linked event. Few days remaining before the new deadline for joining the European Week for Waste Reduction. The Secretariat (serr@assaica.org) is ready to enlist anyone who wants to join in, associations, organizations, administrations, schools, corporations etc. Participation is open to all those who spread the waste reduction goal as the new war on waste. We therefore expect a lot of action along with original and effective communication campaigns which will provide news in future articles.

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EWWR: let’s get it started!

by Francesca Morra



The National Organizing Committee (Ministry of Environment, Federambiente, Rifiuti 21 Network, Province of Turin, Province of Rome, Legambiente, AICA, ERICA Soc. coop., Eco dalle Città), after its meeting in Rome last July 19 at the Ministry of the Environment, officially opened the registrations to the fourth edition of the European Week for Waste Reduction to be held 17 to 25 November 2012.

The EWWR is an environmental communication campaign focused on reducing waste, originated within the LIFE+ project with the primary target of raising awareness among the institutions, stakeholders and consumers about all the strategies and policies for the waste prevention in the European Union, that Member States must pursue, even in light of recent regulatory measures (such as the waste Framework Directive, 2008/98/EC).

Event that has become indispensable for the supporters of a life with less waste, the past three editions have seen an increasing participation: 430 actions registered in 2009, 585 in 2010 and 960 last year! The significance of these numbers is mainly due to the fact that you have to be an institution or Public Administration, an association or a nonprofit organization, a school or a university or a company, etc. to became a project developer. So it is important to emphasize that the "week" works mainly because it is an opportunity to get together and develop action as a group. 

“This year’s innovation is the Italian Award. – Said Roberto Cavallo, President of AICA, which for the fourth year will be the Organizing Secretary- This will contribute to reward the most virtuous actions of each category that will display the reach of the week targets in terms of visibility and communications; originality; content quality and focus on waste prevention; action’s reproducibility and long term follow up”. In addicition, this year, we decided to advance the applications open up compared to the previous editions. 

In order to take part in the “week”and becoming a “project developer”, you have to subject the application form to the National Committee filling the form (Adhesion form), clicking on this link, in addition to the Committee’s other members websites and send it to serr@assaica.org. If the application will meet the European assignements, they will be convalidated by the Committee and will be named “Action for the European Week for Waste Reduction” and will receive the campaign’s kit and obviously the possibility to use the european logo. Also individuals can participate to the week by writing their personal commitments on the website board www.menorifiuti.org: everyone can write down their own waste reduction experience”.

Many other innovations are scheduled for this year edition, so follow the official website www.menorifiuti.org and the Facebook page. Be a part of the week!

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In Paris, a 3 days on waste reduction

by Francesca Morra

In the heart of the Ville Lumière, in the charming neighborhood of “Invalide”; a short walk from the Place de la Concorde, from the 18th to 20th June there was talk of waste reduction and how it is possible and actually achievable in many areas of France and Europe.

Three days of intense meetings: on Monday afternoon there was the COSTEC meeting (The scientific and technic committee of the European Week for Waste Reduction), which was attended by all the national organizers (Andorra; Austria: Styrian Region; Belgium: Brussels Capital Region, Flemish Region, Walloon Region; Brazil: State of Minas Gerais; Denmark; Dominican Republic; Finland; France; Germany; Ireland; Italy; Malta; Portugal: national, Greater Porto; Slovenia; Spain: Asturias, Bizkaya, Catalonia, Gipuzkoa, Navarra, Valencia; Sweden; The Netherlands; United Kingdom: Belfast, Buckinghamshire, East England Region, London, Scotland, Wales, Warrington; this year there will also be Estonia, Hungary, Iceland and Benin) and where there were presented the results of the previous editions. And what about the future? All the committed organizations want to continue to organize the SERR, despite the uncertain future of funding for the project Life+.

Tuesday morning more than 800 people gathered at the Maison de la Chimie, for the first European Meeting on the Prevention of Waste. On stage, different actors spoke in recounting their experiences of communication campaigns for waste reduction. For Italy, Roberto Cavallo spoke of communication campaigns on composting in Asti and promotion of detergents on draught of the Province of Turin. In the afternoon a representative of the European Commission unit, Alban de Villepin, talked about the 20 years of Life+, what is it and how it is structured. Then Valerie Jouvin, chef of the EWWR, explained and presented the results of three years project. After that, Mathieu Hestin talked about difficulties, strengths and outcomes of the impact of the communication campaign under way with the EWWR. The final outcome of the communication campaign will be presented in late July. After listening to 3 point of views of many project partners (Belgium, Catalonia and Porto) Olivier Declercq (ACR) and Toomas Trapido (foundation Let do it, Estonia) have discussed the future of the "Week": the 4 "historical" partners (ADEME - LIPOR-Port - Catalan Agency for Recycling - Brussels Environnement) have made available to ACR + (Association of Cities and Regions for Recycling, Brussels) a fund to ensure coordination at European level of the EWWR for the next 18 months. During the afternoon the awards for 2011 edition were held which has been discussed last week on envi.info.

The technical conference on Wednesday, June the 20th, organized by ADEME (Agency for Environment and Energy Management) witnessed several speakers, leaders of many seminars. This day allowed participants to have more information and better understanding of some specific issues: food waste, washable nappies and incentive methods for players in regions to reduce hazardous waste. In each of these events the public has participated actively interacting with the speakers.

 The effective participation of the public showed a real interest about waste reduction. The same can be applied to public authorities and the actors who daily work on waste reduction. For three days Paris was the center of waste reduction, we hope that the work will continue on this road and it will spread everywhere in Europe (and beyond).

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SERR 2011, the European awards

by Francesca Morra

Yesterday, Tuesday, the 19th of June, the award ceremony of the third edition of the European Week for Waste Reduction was held at the Maison de la Chimie in Paris. In recent weeks, a jury of experts evaluated the awareness on waste reduction that most stood out among the more than seven thousand actions throughout the old continent (and beyond). Prizes were awarded to five categories, one for each kind of project development facing the European project: public administrations, associations and NGOs, businesses, schools and other (hospitals, nursing houses etc.). The work of the jury must not have been easy, but came eventually to a mutual agreement. These are the winners: 

Administration/public authority category: The multi-use Styria Bottle - Specialised Division FA19D Waste and Material Flow Management, Styrian Chamber of Agriculture, Styrian winegrowing enterprises (Styria, Austria) - A campaign carried out across the Styrian region as a partnership between the public administration and the private sector, to increase the quantity of “Steiermarkflaschen” (Styrian wine bottles) that are refilled after their first use.  Association/NGO: Waste Reduction Awareness Project - Junior Chamber International Izmir (Turkey) - A broad campaign involving trainings in 19 schools in Izmir, a businessmen meeting on sustainable waste management, a coastal clean-up and a booth in a supermarket. 

Business/industry: Green Week - Queen’s University Elms Village (Belfast, UK) - Several activities implemented in a residential area housing around 1800 students, including in particular clothes, books and games swapping, a cook book and the handing over of ripped vegetables for free. 

Educational establishment: 49% Less Food Wasted in Bjurhovda School Restaurant - Bjurhovdaskolan/IDA unit (Sweden) - A project to reduce the amount of food waste in the school restaurant and showing the results by putting small balls in a transparent tube visible in the restaurant. 

Other: Better take care of the environment by reducing waste - Medica (France) - A project taking place in 162 nursing houses throughout France, which involved about 10000 dwellers and 7000 employees. Activities involved for instance cooperation with school kids to knit stoles from wool bits and give them away to the red-cross association, cooking workshops and composting trainings. 

The Jury’s favourite: As a Jury’s favourite award this year, the Jury has decided to deliver a special prize to highlight the high and constant quality of the actions nominated in Catalonia during the 3 editions of the European Week for Waste Reduction Awards Competition. This special prize has been handed out to the Organiser of the Week in Catalonia, the ARC (Catalan Waste Agency). 
The full list of candidate actions is on the official website of the European SERR. 

All winners were given a symbolic plaque and the European Waste Reduction Trophy created by F. de Ribaucourt. The climate in the awards ceremony was marked by a palpable atmosphere of celebration and satisfaction, manifested primarily by the members of the European Secretariat. The award ceremony was held inside the first "Rencontres de la prevention des européennes déchets" series of conferences and meetings on the reduction of waste and the SERR, which Envi return to speak in more detail in the next week. If you wait to see what the organizers decided on the future of the "Week" save the date: European Week for Waste Reduction 2012 will take place from the 17th to 25th November 2012!

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QR-code for SERRe Salentine’s extra virgin olive oil

by Annalisa Tancredi

A slice of bread and a thin drizzle of oil are the symbols of simplicity and culinary heritage of Salento’s greenhouses (Serre Salentine) that, during the European Week for Waste Reduction 2011, will be the backdrop for oil tasting and waste prevention events and of the presentation of "QR code SERR ev OIL” project.

In occasion of the period of oil production and SERR 2011, many local farms will promote best practices to optimize oil preservation, production and consumption among those tourists who every year visit Salento to taste new oil. The initiative focuses on three main themes: waste-oil reduction (longer life product), waste-packaging containment (less waste thrown out) and the optimization of resources (produce in an eco-friendly way).

Expert agronomists will explain preservation best practices for a “Longer life product” to the testers along the "oil’s streets", in order to ensure a chemical and organoleptic integrity and at the same time reducing waste. In this way is possible to “throw out less waste” like oil or packaging like bottles or containers; the aim is to raise awareness among consumers and producers and to promote reuse of containers or alternative packaging system.

But the top-of-the-range is the launch of a new best practice to “Produce in an eco-fiendly way” for oil businessman: it's the “Qr code SERR ev OIL” project (a new oil labelling system), sponsored by City of Lecce and Radio Skylab. Qr-code, already widely used in other sectors, is a cryptogram which codify a considerable mass of informations in less space. The project developer Antonio Stea explained the operation: "Once photographed, the Qr-code will direct users to the company’s website where they can find a variety of information about the characteristics of the product, price, food combinations and best preservation techniques to lengthen the product shelf life. It’s also possible to insert a link to an audio/video, so consumers can taste the oil and at the same time listening information about oil, its origin country and the history of Salento’s greenhouses".

In addition, the code could reduce labels’ size and obtain a substantial savings of paper and petrochemicals-derived materials.

The iniziative is certainly an original and innovative way to take part in the SERR advertising in the same time waste reduction, digital technologies and Salento typical products.

It’s possible to taste new extra virgin olive oil from Saturday 26th to Sunday 27th November at the following farms: Imbriani in Casale Marchesi (Casarano), Agrosì (Supersano), Manco Antonio (Alliste), Faraioli (Casarano), Bernardi (Tuglie) and Agronatura (Taviano).

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What’s up with the EWWR 2011?

by Francesca Morra

The European Week for Waste Reduction is proceeding at full speed and just the impetus of public’s will, led the Italian organizers (Aica and the Italian Organizing committee) to extend to 2 November the deadline by when sending the application forms for joining the EWWR 2011.

The goal is to achieve, and why not overcome, more than 600 accessions, thereby exceeding the 585 counted last year in Italy. The Secretariat said that the Italian validated actions and officially registered are more than 370, but many are still being validated. From this point of view, the organizers are very positive and they expect the boom of the arrival of membership cards around November, 1st, in a perfect Italian-style. Participating in a large number is important to spread what the "Week" wants to convey: “You can reduce waste, concretely and simply, by implementing daily measures" as stated in the last press release and as evidenced by the Web Video on YouTube and Facebook.

This spirit of sharing objectives led to plan new common actions across Europe. These initiatives cover several categories: reduction of waste from the food, reuse and repair, reduction of waste from packaging. Each of these actions involves the actual weighing of waste saved by acting as shown in data sheets: organizing a waste-free tea party, setting up sustainable canteens and collecting repair and recovery potential waste for other uses. In this way you can actually see how everyday actions can dramatically reduce the production of waste.

All those who want to keep themselves posted about the European Week for Waste Reduction developments can visit the official website and the Facebook page, with the linked event. Few days remain before the new deadline for joining the European Week for Waste Reduction. The Secretariat (segreteria@assaica.org) is ready to enlist anyone who wants to join in, associations, organizations, administrations, schools, businesses etc. Participation is open to all those who spread the waste reduction goal as the new war on waste. We therefore expect a lot of action accompanied by original and effective communication campaigns which will provide notice in future articles.

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European Week for Waste Reduction 2011: in Italy subscriptions are open

by Silvia Musso

Last June 16th, the Steering Italian Committee launched with a press release the opening of the subscriptions to the third edition of the European Week for Waste Reduction (19th al 27th November 2011).

«This year we decided to anticipate and open the enrollment two months earlier than in previous years - explains Roberto Cavallo, President of AICA, which like last year will follow the EWWR secretariat in Italy - The two previous editions have collected also in Italy a high number of actions and many successes at the level of media impact. This year will be the third and last edition of this project and we are very ambitious: we want non only to achieve the results of recent years, but to overcome them in order that the reduction of waste will become a common concept, comprehensible to all».

To promote the EWWR third edition in the best way during the next months the Committee will organise meetings, press conferences and media launchings.

Let’s note that the "Week" was established within the European Commission's LIFE + Programme with the primary aim to raise awareness of the institutions, stakeholders and consumers about all the strategies and policies for waste prevention implemented by the European Union that Member States must pursue, even in light of recent legislative provisions (the Waste Framework Directive, 2008/98/EC).

The aim of the Italian Committee is to encourage as many people as possible - national and local organizations and institutions, local authorities and public bodies, associations and nonprofit organizations, schools and universities, companies and enterprises, associations, etc. (the so called "Project Developer") - to set up initiatives and actions aimed at reducing waste at national and local levels on days 19 to 27 November 2011.


To participate to the "Week" as "Project Developer", you should submit your application to the National Committee by filling a participation form (the Registration Form), available at the following link http://www.ecodallecitta.it/menorifiuti/documenti.php. If applications meet the European standards, will be validated by the organizing committee and will receive the official designation of action for the European Week for Waste Reduction Kit and communication campaign and of course the possibility of using the EU logo of the "Week".

«The week will also see the involvement of individuals in the work of reducing waste - adds Paolo Hutter of Eco dalle Città, media partner of the EWWR. Also this year, in fact, www.menorifiuti.org collects the individual commitments through a bulletin board open to all comments where everyone can write their own commitment to reducing waste reduction in the Week or an experience that already practice every day».

More info are available on www.menorifiuti.org. Registration forms must be sent to: segreteria@assaica.org.

Come along!
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Real Nappy Week to share a secret

by Silvia Musso

In the first nine months of pregnancy before the happy event, future mothers imagine how their baby and what bright future awaits for them.

They probably do not pose the problem of the impact that their baby will have on the environment. A creature so small could ever produce much waste? Here's the answer: the disposable diapers can be up to 10% of municipal solid waste and their impact on the environment is high because they are not recyclable waste and take 500 years to break down completely, while the cloth diapers are reusable multiple times and for more than one child!

To avoid that every new birth brings with it a terrible ecological footprint Nonsolociripà was created. It is a group of parents from all over Italy who uses cloth diapers for their children and aims to spread, without any profit – they do not advertise any brand - the culture of reusable diapers both through direct contact and arranging meetings on the territory to share experiences and information, and through their website.

In the wake of events with similar names such as the European Week for Waste Reduction, and Italian Week of Reusable Bag, the group NonSoloCiripà will promote also in Italy the International Week of Cloth Diapers, Italian edition of Real Nappy Week, that will be held from 16 to May 22, 2011 all over the world.

To celebrate this campaign (the sixth international edition and the second Italian one) NonSoloCiripà is organizing several initiatives throughout Italy, through the network of so-called "voluntary ciripine” (from ciripà an ancient Italian word for the cloth diaper).

The theme of the 2011 edition is: SHARE THE SECRET! The existence of cloth diapers as an alternative to disposable it is almost unknown to many parents, or there are still a lot of cultural resistance (inherited from older generations) and many sanitation concerns over its use.

The Week promote this: to allow parents to discover the hidden virtues and the best tricks for using cloth diapers. The spread of this alternative to disposable diapers, it is advantageous from many points of view.

It is environmentally sustainable because less waste will end to landfills; it is economically sustainable both for families, as cloth diapers cost from 150 to 800 € from birth to potty, compared to € 1000 -3000 for disposable diapers, and for the public authorities who need to dispose a lower amount of municipal waste; it is sustainable under the medical and health aspect because the child's skin is in direct contact with breathable fabrics and absorbent, unlike disposable diapers containing various substances and synthetic chemicals (such as sodium polyacrilate discussed, pollutant TBT).

These and many other information that are against stupid stereotypes will be provided to interested citizens during the many events planned throughout the week and downloadable from the site. www.nonsolociripa.it.

Among the activities we remind the competition "Share the secret!" to which you can participate by expressing through art, photography, drawing, words, etc., the discovery and the meeting with the cloth diapers.

You can participate to the competition in two different ways: by publishing your works on the Association Facebook page or by e-mail by sending them at info@nonsolociripa.

The most voted work on Facebook page will to win a sticker for the car that makes everyone know that "there is a ciripino (baby wearing a cloth diaper) on board". The Jury Prize will instead be a wetbag. More...

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The winners of the second edition of the European Week for Waste Reduction

by Silvia Musso

It took place yesterday, March 28 at the Radisson SAS Royal Hotel, the Award Ceremony of the European Week for Waste Reduction. In recent weeks, a jury of experts evaluated the best waste reduction actions among the 4,231 recorded in the last 20 to 28 November.

Five actions have been awarded, one for each category of project developer: public administrations, associations and NGOs, businesses, schools and other institutions (hospitals, nursing homes, etc.).

The jury’s work not have been easy, but at the end they came to a mutual agreement.

Here the winners:
Public Administration Category: Environmental Authority of the Barcelona Metropolitan Area (Catalon Region) with “Better than New 100% Old campaign”;
Association and NGO Category: Ecoscience Provence (France) con l'azione “Responsibile Purchase”
Businnesses Category: Codorniu Group (Catalon Region) with “Reduction of glass in packaging in the wine sector”
Schools Category: St.mary Eps Scotland Dunblane (Scotland) with “Food Waste Reduction Challenge”
Other Category: architect Elisa Andretti (Malta) with “Malta Reuse MAp”
The Jury Prize was finally won by Aeress (Spain) with “Waste watchers”.
All winners were presented with a plaque with a high symbolic value.

The climate of the Ceremony was marked by a festive atmosphere and by the European secretariat members’ satisfaction.

If the award has led the conclusion of the second edition of the Week, it is not time to stop.

Today, Tuesday, March 29, in fact, the organizers of the States that participate to the EWWR shall meet to report the progress of the 2010 edition and especially to begin to lay the framework for what will be the third and final edition of the Week that we remember is a three-year Life+ project.

Waiting to see what the organizers have decided and what will be the news, save the dates of the next European Week for Waste Reduction: 19 to 27 November 2011! More...

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Waste Initiatives Awards

by Eleonora Anello

Saturday, October the 30th, 2010, at 11:30am at the Palazzo d’Accursio, the seat of the Municipality of Bologna in occasion of “the European Day Against Waste”, was promoted and sponsored by the Agriculture Commission of the European Parliament and with the support from, among others, Eni and Telecom Italia was official awarded the “Premio Non sprecare” (Do Not Waste Award).

The award is divided into three distinct categories, one for Don Ciotti, a Made in carcere (Made in Jail) one, and one for our old acquaintance, the “Porta la Sporta” Campaign (Bring your reusable bags). Don Ciotti, the founder of Libera and Casa Acmos, received the character award for «his continued and passionate commitment to fighting all forms of waste on both tangible and intangible fronts. Through his testimony and experience of the extensive network of volunteers, Don Ciotti has shown how to combat waste, indifference and cynicism, and affirm the values of solidarity, responsibility and participation», said the jury headed by Antonio Galdo, journalist and creator of the event. The prize also went to the companies of “Made in Carcere”, a cooperative of Lecce, which helps to reduce waste by reusing waste products and clothing destined for the shredder to make plastic bags and accessories made by prisoners. Finally, the associated category, the award was given to the Comuni Virtuosi (Virtuosi Municipality) for the Porta la Sporta Campaign, of which we have repeatedly reported on in our blog.

Congratulations to Silvia Ricci, the coordinator and founder of Porta la Sporta, we must now try to understand the secrets that make the campaign so successful.

In all these years as you communicate the waste links of the consumption of plastic bags to citizens, how many institutions and companies have you approached?
«In fact, even if I have had the impression of doing so for years, the campaign was quietly launched March 22nd, 2009, by simply putting the site online. I remember that even Envi.info had spoken with a few others. As for the specific communication on waste and consumption that is disposable, especially on trains and on the influence that such action is marked by the momentary satisfaction of comfort has to determine the daily decisions, but not limited to, effects devastating when multiplied by billions of individuals, reflected in all our press releases and website content. So much of our communication had been focused on the web, especially through the site and sending press releases to industry sites and blogs. The public administration has been involved through calls and has instead targeted communications on a regular basis especially during events organized by us during the National Reusable Bag Week and the European Week for Waste Reduction. The strategy was the same for the main brands of supermarket chains. A campaign is currently underway to collect signatures to put on the network to be presented with the insignia. We then turned to environmental groups and spontaneous movements. Finally, after a few months, we opened up a Facebook profile for an increased focus on interactivity and to broaden the scope to other aspects of sustainable living».

Which strategy was more effective?
«There is one strategy that is more effective than others. It’s the mix of several strategies that rewards, especially those borrowed from the marketing of the market itself and therefore not typical of environmental communication, which is usually effective in the short term. The Porta la Sporta Campaign literally bombarded on all fronts, for all those actors who think they have a role on improving or eliminating the problem by highlighting each of their roles and the possible intervention beyond its economic benefits or obtained image». More...

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The end of the European Week for Waste Reduction 2010

by Oliver Weathon

Yesterday, Sunday November the 28th, saw the end of the second edition of the European Week for Waste Reduction, which has mobilized millions of people in 18 States (including two extra-European countries, the Dominican Republic and Brazil). The measures that were validated by all the members amounted to more than 4,300 actions, and increase of 50% over last year.

Italy – where the ‘Week’ was sponsored by a national committee (composed of the Ministry of the Environment, Federambiente, Rifiuti 21 Network, The Province of Turin, Legambiente, Aica, E.R.I.C.A. and the ‘Eco dalle città’) and was carried out with the support of the President of the Republic, under the auspices of the Ministry of Environment, the President of the House and Senate, the National Italian Commission of UNESCO and with the support of Conai – has once again won the second place award with about 600 actions taken place around the country.

Roberto Cavallo, the President of AICA, said, “The whole of Italy has shown its desire to participate directly in the future of its territory, as the same European directive calls on Member States. We are confident that the Ministry, which this year is the official leader of the Italian Committee, will be able to capitalize on this enormous wealth of ideas, initiatives and positive responses, and desire to participate”.

Given the success of the ‘Week’, the president of Federambiente, Daniele Fortini, strongly underlies the strategic value of Italy moving towards a reduction in the mountains of waste it produces. “The prevention is a step that is at the beginning of the European hierarchy of waste management. Reducing the amount of waste to manage, and reducing waste and excessive consumption is necessary to save materials and energy as well as money. Paradoxically, the waste prevention in our country is the bottom point of the waste hierarchy”.

A concept that Walter Facciotto, the General Manager of Conai, talks about: “In the broader perspective of waste management, packaging waste prevention is an important tool both from an economic standpoint, great environmental and cultural benefits can also come from not only reducing the volume of waste, but also through changes in the patterns of design and production of packaging, distribution and consumption of goods”.

The Italian Organizing Committee is now working to identify five actions among the hundreds collected (one from each category of project development: government, associations, businesses, schools, e.t.c.) to be send as potential candidates for the European Secretariat.

On March the 28th, 2011, in Brussels the European Awards will be given to Europe’s most original and worthy actions, based on the evaluations by a panel of experts.
The occasion will also launch the third and final edition, to be held from the 19th to the 27th of November, 2011.
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A school of fish in a cleaner sea

by Annalisa Audino

Among the many interesting and original initiatives dedicated to the European Week for Waste Reduction is a distinguished, dedication to the marine environment, called Più-M@re, created by the City of Gallipoli in collaboration with the Association “Insieme Europa” (Together Europe) and the Presidency of the V Productive Activities Commission of the Province of Lecce.

The F.A.O. and the U.N.E.P. have recently published a report stating that fishing gear that is lost or abandoned is a danger to the ecosystem (in this sense we speak about ghost fishing because many marine animals become trapped and die). The Più-M@re action, which is to be held between November the 25th and 28th at Gallipoli is expressed through various activities aimed at cleaning the marine environment and safeguarding its people. We will produce a market for the recovery and reuse of fishing gear (nets, ropes, floats), with on-site repair instructions, their sale back into to the industry (to the poorer members) and the subsequent re-use in the following up feature, delaying over time the purchase of new assets or sold to cooperative and companies operating in the area of art and design. In the picturesque setting, close to a bay with moored boats and the old town behind it, information points will be set up to provide information on appropriate environmental practices for the effective disposal of unusable fishing gear. At the same time an senior ex-fisherman will give a workshop-course on repairing damaged fishing equipment. Participants will first and foremost be students of the Gallipoli Nautical Institute.
Repairing, an almost forgotten practice, became the focal point of this intergenerational communication that wants to commit itself to showing how the lifespan of objects can be stretched.

All video and photographic material collected during these days will be added to a website dedicated to the permanent on-line dissemination of knowledge on the proper management of discarded fishing gear. The original initiative is certainly the goal of safeguarding the marine ecosystem through the spreading of good practices for recovery and reuse of fishing gear worn out between fishing operators, as shown by Antonio Stea, from the agronomist association: “We thought of using the channel of the European Week for Waste Reduction to focus on a subject very dear to us. We hope, in fact, as Salento, we can trigger the virtuous processes of protection of the marine ecosystem that may be exported to other contexts. We also hope that our citizens realize the importance and the ethical value of recovery".
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The land is mine and you shouldn’t touch it!

by Alessandro Ferrua

Campania Infelix. That’s the title of a book , to describe the plight of this beautiful region, subject to destruction because of the waste crisis, that begun sixteen years ago. The collapse of the “Palestra dei Gladiatori” (Gladiators Gym), on 6 November to Pompei, is a very serious problem that symbolizes the institutions that, like the building, give way because of neglect and fail in their capacity to accommodate and protect citizens who are fighting like gladiators, but without weapons or violence, to have a healthy land and a decent life.

There are those who resist on a “battlefield”, as now in Terzigno and those who resist outside of the fight itself, showing what can be virtuous behavior to be taken to save us from the “rubbish” in the long term, a global emergency. Campania is a region that still resists and opposes the overproduction of waste and its impact on society.

European Week for Waste Reduction is a great opportunity to show that it is possible to adopt sustainable lifestyles and there is need to continue to do so outside of this European event, like Campania is doing, with about 50 very effective actions. In Pompei, for example, there is a group of schools working together on an action with a suggestive title: “Do not consume unnecessarily, so that each brother could share all the goods of Creation”. And even stronger by the subtitle: “The land is mine and you shouldn’t touch it!”.
The project developers are the Didactic “Luigi Leone”, Secondary School of First Instance “Maiuri”, Second Didactic Circle of Pompeii, Intermediary State School “Matteo Della Corte” and Elementary Equalized School “Bartolo Longo”.

«The action is aimed at the general public, but the main actors are children and school children who go around raising awareness on waste prevention in shops, offices, banks, post office, but also in the family. In all those places where adults can be involved», says Nadia Citarella, head teacher of the Didactic “Luigi Leone” and adds that «it also included a meeting with the grandparents who go into schools to explain how life was once , when they didn’t produce these mountains of waste». The action very interesting because it involves and connects generations. In fact, sustainability is reached by taking inspiration from best practices of the past, responding to the needs and technologies of the present. «There will also be a walk in the National Park of Vesuvio, where- says Citarella - I remember , there is a landfill of first class, a deposit of assimilated municipal waste».

It is inevitable that the more you are in contact with a critical situation that you can see up close and you can experience the adverse effects, the more we are led to face it with courage and patience, “from the start”. In this way the positive will of the people who believe strongly in change is an example to all others.
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Plastic bags: Fossano makes a new “Guinness World Record”

by Francesco Rasero

Today, on Saturday November the 27th, in Fossano (Cuneo), the new Guinness World Record was set for the largest sculpture in the world made of plastic bags. 120,000 discarded shopping bags were used to build a structure of 22 cubic meters that was shaped like the skyline of the nearby Mount Viso.

The event, which brought together hundreds of people in the central Castello Square, was organized within the European Week for Waste Reduction by the Sea Consortium, the City of Fossano and the E.R.I.C.A. cooperative, with support of the Vm Press, Novamont, ‘Porta la Sporta’, and Trs Radio Savigliano.

The sculpture was measured at 7.22 meters wide, 2 meters deep and 2.2 meters in height (from the base to the peak of Mount Viso) with and average height of 1.5 meters. It was made entirely of untreated wood and then covered and filled with bags, as required by the regulations of the Guinness Book of World Records.
At the end of the event, all of the materials were immediately recycled.

The record was validated on the spot, after a careful verification that lasted almost two hours, by the adjudicator Jack Brockbank, an official representative of the Guinness World Records society from London: “I am pleased to officially announce that from this moment Fossano officially holds the new world record”, he said to the applause of those present, before handing over the official certificate to the organizers.
The previous record for this type of sculpture belonged to the United States (specifically Los Angeles), who amassed 36,700 bags.

“The initiative has served to launch a strong symbolic message and raise awareness of the environmental impact of daily choices of each, with the objective being to adopt a more environmentally sustainable lifestyle and produce less waste”, says Roberto Cavallo, the president of the E.R.I.C.A. cooperative. “The bags were collected over the past two months and involved the population and the schools of the Sea Consortium, and organization that manages the waste in 54 municipalities in the province of Cuneo: we set ourselves the target of collecting 50,000 bags, however we have reached 120,000.”

A significant contribution to the record came from the primary schools of the local area, who were involved with the contest “I virtuosi del Guinness” (The virtuosos of Guinness – a competition to see which school could contribute the most plastic bags). Over 73 thousand bags were collected by the pupils, the area of Torre San Giorgio, and the class VB of Racconigi won first prizes for both categories.
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Sustainable Hilton

by Alessandro Ferrua

Even grand hotels are becoming environmentally friendly, using small steps directed to the service for its customers and to internal staff, present in the offices of the various hotel of the chain. This shows the Hilton Hotel in Milan, during the European Week for Waste Reduction, held some little actions, very interesting.

«It’s since 2007 with the program “We Care” at European level that Hilton implements coordination for sustainable activities. This year the program is global and is called Lightstay» says Monica Cervio, Personal Assistant of Ilio Rodoni, General Director of the hotel.
«All actions have been communicated to the hotel staff during a meeting aimed at all employees in which we gave a preview. Like the day without paper “Paperless Day”, we have alerted our colleagues on November 23 requesting that in the offices they tried to avoid the use paper. 44 quilts were given to the Salesians of Don Bosco in Milan and beds and mattresses to the company “Dona Con Amore” ONLUS. For our customers, on the reception desk we placed a digital frame with information about the European Week for Waste Reduction and jam jars containing a parchment reused with 10 tips for reducing waste, both in Italian and English».

But there’s more, in fact Dr. Cervio adds that «there are other international activities that we have participated actively involving customers and staff: Earth Hour, where for 60 minutes we turned off the lights or down where necessary, Earth Day, which is a world day of the ground during which they were offered the seeds of flowers and Car Free Day (a day without a car). Hilton Milan, thanks to its continued contribution to the environment, two years ago won a bicycle for each of his employee» and in this case it was just a regional competition sponsored by the Hilton company.

To highlight the absence of classical individually packaged disposable products for its customers, «indeed, at the breakfast buffet we have introduced the use of dispensers for cereals, fruit juices and coffee, laundry service, our team use dispenser for detergents and not individual bottles. In addition, employees have introduced a dispenser for water» concludes Dr. Cervio.

The awareness of the company also continues outside the European Week for Waste Reduction, as well as costant and creative efforts continue to reduce the impacts of any human activity on the environment. More...

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Reducing playing at IKEA in Ancona

by Eleonora Anello

Several companies have joined with enthusiasm and commitment to the European Week for Waste Reduction. These include the multinational IKEA, the furniture giant that for about fifteen years has provided environmentally aware and sustainable products that have lead them on a journey to consider the environmental and social consequences of their business and the obvious repercussions on the image of the well-known brand.

The shopping center of Camerano, in the province of Ancona - recently selected by “Comuni ricicloni - Speciale prevenzione” (Big Recycling Municipality – Special Prevention) for the project due to the social aspects of recovery and reuse of blankets that were donated to the poor and for the installation of three water dispensers in public spaces – has joined the European mobilization to reduce waste through a series of initiatives. During the next weekend (27th and 28th of November 2010) there will be an exhibition dedicated to the “Week” and all the environmental and social actions that IKEA has undertaken for the prevention of waste.

During the exhibition official materials of the European campaign will be distributed that will show some videos inside the restaurant of the store. Also in these spaces, from 3.00pm until closing on Saturday the 27th, in collaboration with the Marche Region, smaller customers will be able to participate in “Riusa giocando” (Playing Reuse), workshops that encourage learning through play, creative reuse, and to discover, enhance and transform waste materials into resources. RIU playground operators, involve children in the game of reuse in order to show optimism and that «even in the face of a world increasingly overwhelmed by waste it is possible, indeed essential, to build a path for change, for a new relationship between man and the environment, through the concepts on conservation and development not only concerning discarded materials, but also economic, social fabric and local cultures», as stated in the press release.

Organizers estimated that about 10,000 visitors will attend. Tiziana Babuin, the IKEA Family and Local Marketing Manager, told Envi.info «the collection and recycling of materials constitutes a fundamental commitment for IKEA, because any waste created and poorly managed is a costly, both for society and the environment. A proper and meticulous collection can reduce the environmental and economic disadvantages created by waste, by transforming it into a resource. For the past fiscal year, the international goal set by IKEA to the total percentage of waste sent to reuse, recycling or energy recovery was 90%. The goal in Italy has almost been reached with the result of 87%, while for the local store in Ancona it was 82%. By virtue to this commitment, the IKEA in Ancona could only proceed with the proposal of the Marche Region of the host in the Ludoteca reuse shop. The European Week for Waste Reduction represents a good opportunity to remind us of the need that everyone always assumes their share of responsibility towards the environment and people. For the IKEA in Ancona hosting the games area of reuse is also a way to encourage customers and employees to act in person, by practicing small, valuable devices and changes in the home and beyond».

And we also believe in the light of what was said by Ingvar Kamprad, the founder of IKEA, who in an interview with Swiss television station TSR, declared to have driven the same car for 15 years, flies only in economy class and encourages his employees to always write on both sides of the paper.
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The Home Composting Network starts

by Oliver Weathon

The 20th of November saw the start of ‘Rete Italiana Compostatori Domestici ‘(the Italian Network of Home Composting), a project aimed at creating a home composting network between towns, villages, public administrations, and of course, individual citizens. The objective of the program is to increase communication between people to make it easier for them to take part in home or local community composting.

The commitment of the network is “to provide experiences, tools, dialogue and commentary on topics of home composting in all its forms, individual and collective”, according to the network’s website. While composting is a very beneficial process, for communities, organizations and individuals, it is often seen as a time consuming and difficult process. The Compostatori Domestici Network can offer different kinds of support to people to enable them to begin home composting.

Composting can benefit individuals, the local community and the environment in many ways. It saves biodegradable materials from the landfill site, and offers a free alternative source of fertile soil which citizens can either use in their own gardens or donate to their neighbors or local communal green areas. Anyone is able to join the network, so schools can take advantage of the benefits it offers, not just in reducing their waste, but also in educating young children about home composting and waste reduction. Like schools, public administrations, companies and organization which take part in the network will also fell economical benefits. An increase in composting of food waste and other biodegradable materials mean a decrease on the amount of many spent in the collection and disposal of these waste products, meaning that the Compostatori Domestici Network will benefit participants economically, as well as benefitting the environment.

The official start date for the Network was on the 20th of November, when an event was held in Capannori (in the Province of Lucca) during the “Seminario Internazionale Rifiuti Zero” (the International Seminar on Zero Waste). During this seminar, key figures in the field of waste reduction signed the Initiative.

The website of the network (www.noicompostiamo.it) not only provides advice and support on composting, but also coordinates the different national territories in their participation of the network. It also urges public Administrator and local Governments to promote individual and communal composting, emphasizing the fact that it is one of the simplest and most effective means of waste reduction, and something that everyone can take part in.

While the network officially started on November 20, before then participants were invited to sign the “Manifesto dei Compostatori Domestic” (the Home Composting Manifesto) on the website to pledge their support and commitment to the project.
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Adoption and reduction in South Italy

by Paolo Ghiga

“Adopt a Fountain”: is the title of the Rabite Tourist Service Company of Tursi (Basilicata) to attend the European Week for Waste Reduction 2010.
Various stakeholders have been involved in the project, as well as promoting the company, including the people of I.T.C.G.T. “Manlio Chapter”, from the city of Tursi-Matera, the National Park of Pollino and the Lucano Aqueduct.
Status’ have been provided for the studies and research of inland water in Tursi performed by the students, who later located and old fountain that was still active, with the aim to reduce bottle water.

On the 22nd of November there was also an excursion to label the classes involved in the Sorgente Frida, in the Pollino National Park.
The didactic-educational part will see the creation of a web page, a journal, the publication of historical and architectural design of the fountain, the proposal and the vote, (just during the Week) of the slogan on the significance of responsible consumption of public water.
But the initiative will not end on this day. By January 2011, in fact, there will be held a public presentation of the project with the laying of a plaque on the adopted fountain, showing its history and the slogan winner, and the promotion of the entire project in the neighbouring schools will take place by the end of February.

Dr. Carmela Rabite, what has been your target audience as we approach the European Week for Waste Reduction?
«We sensitized to a specific target, mainly high school students, involving them personally we make excursions, share and promote, with their conscious practices by creating a web page. To open up the outside we have created a network of organizations, a newsletter, and we publicized our initiative especially in the local press. In addition, we are committed to prepare and distribute education materials and planners. Also, we are planning an annual event on the same theme».

For a company of tourism services that has significant concern for the environment…
«In fact we started from our local area simply going by what it has offered for thousands of years, without asking anything in return and from which, for the generations, it has left. Today, an integral part of our landscapes are huge wind turbines and water pipes. The area, in short, thanks to natural resources, freely distributes a wealth that it paradoxically misunderstood. By spreading the culture of belonging and awareness, the younger generation can help reduce this gap. We believe that this is the way forward. Let us take all the precautions we can to reduce CO2 emissions, such as eco-driving courses for our staff, or buying new buses with LPG engines. However we do understand that this is not enough. We are part of a vicious circle that we hole will come to and end».

You have placed great hope in young people showing attention to teaching and the educational aspects of the proposal...
«The idea to adopt a fountain, and to find a slogan to create a path of inland water, would not have come to fruition had it not been involved with children. This project was built around them, because we believe in their great and innovative ability to communicate. We have tried to convey their attention and energy on critical water consumption, giving the possibility of communication tools with a low environmental impact. The children, who have reacted with great enthusiasm, have involved the school and some classes in secondary schools of the towns of Cracow and Tursi, in a guidance draft, in fact teachers have included Adopt and Fountain in the next annual educational program».
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Beyond the waste

by Anna de Polo

On Saturday 20th started the European Week for Waste Reduction, which will conclude on Sunday November 28. Its aim is to spread the concept of reuse intended as more careful and sensible consumption, longer product life and reduction of the wastes thrown away, through a series of local initiatives, including those coordinated by Rete Nazionale degli Operatori dell’Usato (the National Network of the Second-Hand Workers). The Network O.N.U. presents, at second hands markets and fairs of Italy, a series of events implemented by local organizations and founders of the Network: Associazione Occhio del Riciclone, Associazione ViviBalon, Associazione Bazar Project, Associazione Bidonville, Rete di sostegno ai mercatini Rom, Associazione degli Operatori di Porta Portese.

In order to raise awareness among visitors of the fairs and markets, posters that highlight the social, economic and environmental impact of the sale and barter of second-hand goods as a practice aimed to reducing waste will be posted on the banks of the market operators and they will hand out gadgets with an attached calendar of meetings of the local associations and the O.N.U. Network, starting from the States-General of the Second-Hand, that will be held in Turin on the 14 and 15 January 2011. This action-raising will take place in the historical markets of Portaportese (Roma), Balon (Torino), 29 ° Barter and Second-Hand fair (Napoli), Città dell’Altra Economia (Rome), and the people helpdesk of Quarticciolo (Rome).

On Sunday, November 28th, at the Renato Biagetti hall in the Città dell’Altra Economia in Turin, the "Report on the Re-use in Italy” will be presented, where they will speak about the state of the art of re-use in Italy and some virtuous experiences will be compared. The presentation will be organized by the Association “Occhio del Riciclone”, that was born in early 2003 with the aim of promoting the re-use and finding a solution to the emergency of waste from the point of view of people. Gianfranco Bongiovanni, a member of the O.N.U. network and an expert in environmental communications and economies linked to the popular re-use, during the presentation of the O.N.U. Network said: "the disastrous impact of environmental policies based mainly on the landfill shows the great positive effect in the reduction of items to dispose. If the operators had access to bulky waste that people bring to the municipal collection centres it would result in a reduction of the costs of recycling".

Now that we have learned to recycle, then we must learn to re-use. The practice of differentiation and recycling, despite many difficulties and the great differences between some parts of Italy and others, is becoming a consolidated habit. Some of you may have experienced a surge of consciousness when, for various reasons, you found yourselves throwing a glass bottle in the undifferentiated waste or putting plastic and wet in the same container. This discomfort, symptomatic of an environmental sensitivity that occurs in automatic and almost unconscious behaviours, is an achievement of all of us as individuals and as citizens, but also represents a new starting point. What we do to reduce the amount of waste we produce every day? This is probably a “new” question for many and a new challenge for the society, especially for a consumer one like ours. Not just recycling, therefore, but also re-use, is the message this European Week wants to convey.
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Record of participants for the second edition of the European Week for Waste Reduction

by Silvia Musso

From November the 20th to the 28th, in more than 22 European countries, the second edition of the European Week for Waste Reduction will take place with more that 3000 participating bodies.

In Italy, the Italian Promotional Committee, which consists of the Ministry of Environment, Federambiente, Rifiuti 21 Network (the Waste 21 Network), the Province of Turin, Legambiente, AICA, E.R.I.C.A. Soc. Coop., and Eco Town, which are validated by over 580 actions from all Italian regions (the last year there were about 400), a number that puts it in second place in Europe after France.

Many public and private entities, known as project developers, will implement awareness raising activities on the specific issue of waste prevention, which can be achieved through source reduction and reuse.

However, success of the campaign is not only quantitative but also qualitative. The assets are varied and original and are often the result of a longer process, which are closely related to the campaign and are intended to be born and die within a few days. The real success of the week will be helping to raise general awareness on the issue of waste prevention.
The events include a conference on a national level from the university of ‘Trashing the Trash’. Communication models for the prevention and the doorstep collection of waste organized by the Environmental Communication group (CHANGE) and the Faculty of Communication and Science Knowledge of the University of Rome (the Congress Center, Faculty of Communication, on the 23rd of November), the conference has put prevention at the core of sustainable waste management (Genova, November the 26th at 9:00am, at the Palazzo Tursi), and the First National Seminar on Research on Waste and the promotion of good practices of environmental sustainability (Capannori (LU), on the 20th and 21st of November, at the Municipal Auditorium) during which the Italian Network of Home Composting will be officially founded.

Also of note is the project ‘Riduure si può’ (Reducing is possible) which is coordinated by Legambiente through its many circles during the 27th and 28th of November.
The ‘Week’ will be officially launched in Europe by a series of events by the FlashMob or NoTrashMob, as they were dubbed in Italy.

The NoTrashMob are to launch the SERR which is a meeting of citizens who take steps to promote waste prevention in a festive atmosphere. Participants are encouraged to meet in a public space which is accessible and visible – e.g. square, schools, theaters, multipurpose centers, e.t.c. – to play along with their baskets and other containers which serve as symbols of waste reduction. The result is a sort of “Batucada”, the original music of Rio de Janeiro played on traditional Brazilian percussion instruments similar to drums: the only difference is that the repinique, tambourine, agogo and Apita will be replaced here by our waste bins, bottles and anything that can be used to symbolize waste reduction and responsible consumption, as well and make noise. In Italy the NoTrashMob will be more than ten, a number that puts us in first place among all State Parties during the ‘Week?, from Sicily to Lombardy, Calabria in Peidmont, Liguria, Venteto and Lazio, which will use the motto; “the more empty the bin, the louder the sounds!”.
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