EWWR 2011: The Italian finalists

 

by Francesca Morra

After 4 months since the third edition of the European Week for Waste Reduction there is still an important assignment to do: to award the most deserving, sustainable, original ones! The awards of the EWWR 2011 European finalists will be held on the next 18th and 19th of June during a ceremony featuring all the organizers and the finalists of every category (public administrations, associations, NGOs, firms, schools and “others”).

 The choice of the Italian finalists, among the 960 actions carried out and recorded has been very difficult for the Italian steering committee, composed by the Ministry of Environment, Federambiente, Rifiuti 21 Network, Province of Turin, Province of Rome, Legambiente, AICA, E.R.I.C.A. and Eco dalle Città. 

In the end, with a vote mediated by the Italian organizing secretary of AICA, the following nominations will be proposed: 
• Representing the public administrations, COVAR 14 with “Cook with the scraps”:featuring the Hotel Management school “Bobbio” of Carignano, Eataly, Slowfood, The Food Stand and local restaurants, it has been created a recipe book “Cook with the scraps”, and have been organized cook with the scraps courses. • Representing the associations, Reloader with the project “A neighbourhood for the environment: the good practice comes from the schools”: the event aimed at spreading conscious behaviours to reduce WEEEs, wastes of electric and electronic equipment and to prevent their indiscriminate abandon, making the students of the Rome Spinaceto neighbourhood assume active responsibility. The first action targeted to inform and give scientific data about WEEE. The second group of actions was about promoting among the public right views and behaviours. The third one has been the action “Clean the public park”, aiming at free the park from wastes. The last one was about a session of collection of WEEE at the High school Majorana. 
• Representing the firms, Farms of Puglia, with “QR-code - SERRevOIL”: it consisted of a new system of olive oil labeling, The Qr code, already used in other fields, is an encrypted writing which contains lots of information in little space, in this way we can save more paper than using the common labels. 
• Representing the schools, Primary school Galileo Galilei of Ispra with “Box? Yes, thanks”: the events in the school have been a lot: the “Fruit-a-day”, that is a day along the week when children had a break eating fruits or vegetables; the daily use of the bring break box without any packaging; the use of flask or a reused bottle or a glass for the tap water, the use of the school’s composter to recycle the organic waste. Even the parents have been involved and the dealers close to the school for the purchase of sustainable breaks. 
• Representing the category “others”, S.E.N.A.P.E., with “Baumobag”; at the tailoring lab “RiciCuci” (where used clothes are recovered) have been made shopping bags using empty packs of cats and dogs food. The packs have been collected through an ads campaign nearby the dog and cat pounds managed by S.E.N.A.P.E., the schools and the animal shops. 

oon we will know if these interesting initiatives could take part to the European finals: in the meantime we congratulate them for reaching such an important goal we wish them “good luck”!

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Varese is not Salerno: racist campaign or smart advertisment?

by Silvia Musso

Do you remember one year ago - it was February 2011 – the bad act of the municipality of Spresiano (North-East Italy) that on the flyer of a public meeting about waste recycling had inserted an image in which a person threw into a bin a Calabria shaped waste? At that time we had wondered if it was an act of "Padan" racism or a simple gaffe or even a fake. Well, these same questions have accompanied the beginning of a recent awareness campaign on recycling sponsored by the city of Varese (North Italy).Some weeks ago, in fact, on the city's streets posters have appeared, bearing only the claim: "Varese, is not Salerno" (Salerno is a South Italy city)

The appearance of the posters immediately provoked an echo of voices, criticism and accusations as evidenced in the pages of the local newspaper Varesenews: «"Varese is not Salerno" and it is a storm. The poster around the city has not gone unnoticed. On our Facebook pages are getting hundreds of comments. The cliam is read in many different ways. And the news arrived also in Salerno. Do not miss Salerno's citizens who write on Varesenews».

The initial storm was calmed down, however, by the explanations of the administration. This was a teaser action – there were actually two kind of poster "Varese is not Salerno" and "Varese is not Pordenone" -before the proper campaign commissioned by the Mayor whose goal is the public awareness on the benefits of sorting waste.

On January 19th, in fact, the Mayor Attilio Fontana contacted his colleagues of Salerno and Pordenone with a letter in which he explained that the municipality of Varese intended to carry out a publicity campaign to sensitize the citizens to separate waste by referring into the posters to the two cities, virtuous examples for separate collection. Pordenone with 78.1% is the most virtuous city of the North in terms of recycling, while Salerno with 70.3%, has the best performance in the South. Varese, with 48.9% have already a good result, but municipal administration wants to improve these.

The administration's idea was certainly intriguing, looking at the amount of reactions triggered mainly on social networks. To evaluate the success, however, we must wait for the next phases of the communication campaign and above all ensure that the first interest of the citizens will turn into a real change in their habits in order to achieve the goal: to arrive by the end of 2012 to 65% of separate waste collection.

We'll see.

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New urban scenes ... of garbage

by Eleonora Anello

How have the streets of our city to the door to door collection of waste? Often this areas do not look so nice. In the worst cases, they tend to resemble small unauthorized landfills. Meanwhile, however, it is a price to pay to get a better quality of recycling. In Auckland, New Zealand, instead, they have found a creative and glamour way for collecting the garbage, thanks to the campaign "Beautify Your City”.

The design project took shape in the distribution of special garbage bags depicting green hedges or colored pansies, instead of traditional bags for collection. The unsightly red envelopes have been banned during the blitz called "Trash Day" and replaced with green ones offered by the citizens and businesses of downtown. The streets of the city were thus converted into neat and unexpected green spaces where even the garbage is not able to alter the urban decor.

This phase of the campaign, which started in November 2011, aimed to combat fly-tipping of waste, especially that of oils and educate traders to take out the trash at the right time, to avoid small temporary landfills in the city. The inititive was carried out by the association of downtown merchants Heart of the City along with the municipal administration in view of the Rugby World Cup.

«The flower beds will help to beautify the problem areas of the city and and remind businesses and residents of the need to do their bit to keep the city clean», said Jane Stewart, Project Manager , Heart of the City. At the launch of the campaign, she added: «The CBD is the heart of Auckland city and the state of our streets leaves a lasting impression on visitors. This is an important time to win the hearts and minds of tourists as well as improve the environment for residents and workers».

"Beautify Your City" has created an atmosphere so evocative that has been immortalized by several images that have flooded the Web in a short time and that have been around the world, reaching an unexpectedly target. To show that aesthetics can not be underestimated, we are pleased to present this best practice, so that other communicators and other administrators make more livable and more beautiful their cities. And who knows whether a glamorous and fun bag will be able to make more enjoyable and profitable the challenging task of waste collection and separation, inescapable duty of every citizen.

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With the hands in the rubbish

Paola Alagia, Massimiliano Iervolino. Preface by Gian Antonio Stella. Reality Book Edizioni. 152 pagg. 14€

Review by Roberto Cavallo

I’ve just finished reading the book by Alagia and Iervolino.

I’ve devoured it. Not only because it’s about an issue that I’ve been studying for twenty years, but also because it’s well written. Fluent. It’s seems to be a novel.

When you go back to read a paragraph you found it true. What you are reading is dramatically true. The names, the places, the dates: everything is true.
And with them it’s true the pollution of a vast area of Rome and the connivance of the administrations that let it happened.

“What is Malagrotta? I believe it will become ‘Buonagrotta’* for the service it provided to Rome and to almost the whole Lazio region…” This is one of the sentences of Manlio Cerroni, “the lawyer”, owner of Malagrotta and of many others dumping grounds and waste disposal plants in Lazio. These sentences are extracted from the statements he issued to the Corriere della Sera newspaper and from his auditions in the Commission for the Environment in the Chamber and in the Senate. They are at the beginning of the book.

Then you read the book. You get involved into the story of the “king of the rubbish”, of the politicians who governed Rome, its Province and the Lazio Region and of the place where there’s the dumping ground. And then you arrive at the recent analyses made by the ARPA (Regional Agency for the Protection of the Environment), where it’s said: “the results from the 2010 survey confirm the ground waters contamination observed in the previous monitoring campaign of the site, both for inorganic and organic compounds… On the basis of these results we stress the need of measures for securing the site from the diffusion of the contamination, and we suggest subsequent recovery plans of the site […]. The most important information is not the peak of the 2010, compared to the 2009, but the fact that the numbers of the last year show that the pollution is not decreasing, but increasing instead.”

So you think that maybe it hasn’t really become “Buonagrotta”!

The seriousness of the situation is confirmed by several attached documents, including analyses, graphs, scientific publications about the impact of the dumping grounds on human health, as long as copies of the reports to the Public prosecutor’s office.

The subtitle “the disaster of the ‘partitocrazia’**. The Malagrotta case: the eight hill of Rome” describes part of the book. Because the work by Alagia and Iervolino is not only a denunciation, but also an attestation of the efforts made by the Malagrotta Committee and by its resolute president, Sergio Apollonio. It’s also suggested a regional plan of waste management, which should stress the relevance of the prevention and the waste separation so that, if dumping grounds have to be there, at least they’ll be marginal and not dangerous.

It’s a book that leaves a door open for the hope, because, if “the problem is difficult to unravel […], two points are sure in this story: the citizens, that won’t accepted the decisions made by the top, and Europe, which likely keeps an eye on this situation.

* Malagrotta, which is the name of the dumping ground site, literally means “bad cave”, while ‘Buonagrotta’ means “good cave”. It’s a wordplay alluding to the supposed goodness of the Malagrotta site.

** partitocrazia means a situation in which political parties control all the institutions.

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Minister-bin is ideal for compost

by Annalisa Tancredi

English humor is really ruthless. Apparently the British do not have the slightest fear of being offensive or outrageous and continue to tease Italian politicians with their typical humor and sharp witticisms.

It will be better to adopt a healthy dose of sarcasm and leave any attitude of touchiness or nationalism in order to understand the “made in England” idea of naming a full line of trash cans after the ministers of Berlusconi’s executive.After the French quiz with questions on the hypothetical party "Forza Gnocca" and the promotion of Italian products such as pizza restaurant "Bunga bunga" in London, the company Primrose baptizes compost bins for the garden with the names of the (ex ) Italian ministers.

They collect it as nobody does. The ministers-bins are all there and in funny and functional models. There is Renato, the smallest, a mini-container for compost smells; there is also the minister Umberto as a "green cone" eating waste, which turns food waste into water and carbon dioxide. Angelino, Ignatius and Julius are respectively an informal compost bucket of stainless steel, a galvanized incinerator for the garden and a comfortable booth of pit to hide the trash cans. As for the female ministers, the company has resorted to a more ennobled design, as for Mara, the elegant trash of white marble columns, and Giorgia, compact and galvanized, with a modern and young design. Finally the Minister for the Environment Stefania couldn’t miss, in a super natural version with a nice garden composter, pleasant even as an ornament.

The viral effect was unstoppable in the face of such irony and the company could benefit of free advertising from the users that on Facebook have shared the news over 8 thousand times. But the question is much more serious, because these characters were appointed to govern our country at the last elections in 2008. The reactions were varied: some people took it personally and were offended by the humiliation that Italian politics had received by the English. Some has reacted with annoyance and impatience to the nth commonplace about Italian behavior. In fact the action was clearly against some specific characters and has nothing to do with the qualities that have always distinguished our countrymen all over the world.

That political class is now nothing but a thing of the past and through this project the British have given us a creative idea to exploit the popularity of certain characters: the faces of a campaign to promote recycling and composting methods. What better way to dispose of the “organic waste” emergency of our country if not in the popular bin with the name of _ _ _ _ _ _ (your choice).

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In Berlin the garbage makes fun

by Irene Gozzelino

She writes on her own website that she´s feeling especially persuasive. She is ironic about the daily life of the citizens, made of walks with dogs, cigarette´s butts and garbage. She´s funny and she dresses only orange.
We´re presenting you the garbage disposal services of Berlin, managed by the biggest firm in Europe in this sector.

The firm is called BSR, an acronym that means “Berliner Stadtreinigung”, simply “cleaning of the city of Berlin”, and it was founded in 1951. Apart from an efficiency guarantee from 6000 employees and from 2000 vehicles for the waste collection, the BSR is remarkable for her communication capacity.

Every year the streets of the German´s capital are invaded of a new and funny advertising campaign about waste collection, street cleaning and garbage collection, that changes with the season. The cold colors of ice and snow mark the winter, more warm colors recall the summer´s sun.

The colors are changing but not the objective: to change our own bad cultural and emotional background about garbage and who collects it.

As you can see in our Facebook gallery, the garbage collector is represented like a familiar person: he takes care of the city (the home of all) taking away the garbage exactly like we do at home (the slogan is: “like at home...only more”).

In another image we´re seeing The Big Kathrine, an enormous child, that is dominating the city like a giant: she´s so big ´cause all the children, learning from an early age, can give a big contribution to clean the city, now and in the future.

Then the advertising images are genial that invite to throw away the organic rest in the appropriate baskets: most famous classical paintings are deprive of fruits and vegetables ´cause “old vegetables belong to the compost´s basket”.

Finally, we need to mention the trashcans on the street; they have an intelligent structure with an hole only for cigarettes, and are always provided with funny slogans like “CO2´s collector” or “WOW WOW it´so amazing how you have collected the defections of your dog the right way!".

Thanks to this this strong advertising campaign, the just diligent citizens are made aware of the recycling collection. One result is, that every year 6000 tons of organic waste are produced and transformed into bio gas that is used by the vehicles of the street cleaning and garbage collection.

The color of the BSR is a harsh orange, and we must state, that in this case, orange has never been so green.

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CleaNap: guerrilla cleaning in Naples

by Annalisa Tancredi

Waging a guerrilla, armed with brooms and shovels, against administrative malpractice and negligence for historical and cultural places of Naples. In Campania, a dozen of young students and precarious under 32, called "The angels of rubbish", decided to clean Neapolitan squares and places of worship, organizing some guerrilla cleaning flash mobs. They are CleaNap - Piazza Pulita, a voluntary movement born on Facebook and become, in a few months, one of the most covered by national and international press. In few days the fans number grew up, active citizenship joined the idea of shaking the city swamped by lawlessness, administrative inefficiency and waste.

On June, 4, the first ecology-swoop started from Piazza Bellini, then the ecology-from-below movement reached Porta Capuana, Santa Maria la Nova, Piazza Matteotti. Now CleaNap is a voluntary association for social solidarity and environmental sustainability and in next year intends to clean up Vesuvius National Park, to contrast its decay. Emiliana Mellone, one of the organizers, tells us something more about the association.

How was the movement born?
CleaNap was born as a viral proposal shared among Neapolitans citizenship. I created an event on Facebook "Let's clean Piazza Bellini, each of us equipped with broom, gloves, maps: occupy squares!"; I invited my virtual friends, social network sharing mechanisms did the rest. We were 100, 200, then also 400! Later, people met in squares joined the team of friends and after this summer we set up a voluntary association.

What about "The Sound of 3R", your proposal for EWWR?
It was a flash mob seeking to involve passers-by. We emphasized the importance of recycling, reuse and reduction through games and questions and a musical and improvisation acting performance. We contacted the Bateria Pegaonda who played with instruments made from recycled objects.

What about the future? Have you planned other guerrillas?
In December we will be involved in the Asia's campaign "Four days of differentiation" about re-using paper and cardboard and composting. About long term plans, CleaNap is the Italian partner of Let’s do it! for the 2012 World Cleanup, a campaign made by volunteers coming from more than 100 countries, for cleaning up countries from illegal junk. We have a very ambitious project, cleaning up the Vesuvius National Park!, that needs to be endorsed by a massive support from all citizens, private and institutions. We need many people from all over Italy who want to join us for cleaning a national symbol that in last time has been victim of illegal spills. If many people will take part in the initiative, then we can achieve important goals: not only the recovery of abandoned junk in nature, but also a real structural intervention, which needs also the help of the institutions.

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Czech communication experiments

by Silvia Musso

It's been over one year since we introduced to Envi readers the original campaigns realized in the Czech Republic by EKO KOM, a company that deals with the collection, recovery and disposal of packaging waste throughout the country.

What has happened since then? It is time to look East Europe and "go back" to Prague to listen to our friend Šárka Nováková, head of communication sector, who explains us the current communication projects targeted to Czech citizens.

It is active since last summer the campaign "Of course" that differs from those we are used to because it is direct to people who already make waste collection to thank and encourage them to continue their good behavior. There are, in fact, many myths that accompany the habit of recycling, but EKO KOM wants to invite responsible citizens not to be misled.

In order for the campaign to be properly targeted and adjusted, its content is being prepared on the basis of the results of a survey. This determines the current behaviour and number of those separating waste and also of those who never separated waste or stopped separation for some reason. It followed from it, amongst other things, that people who separate waste do not feel sufficiently motivated to continue doing so in the future. In a great many cases, they are confused by myths that occur around separation and recycling of waste, such as that separated waste ends up in a landfill anyway or that this is just a passing fashion that will soon disappear.

Consequently, this year EKO KOM has decided to overturn the commonest citizenship's myths in an attractive and enjoyable way, realizing some films. The individual episodes can be viewed in www.samosebou.cz from August to October, and there are the most conventional film genres, intended to attract the broadest possible audience. They include westerns, kung-fu, comedies, film noir and gangster films. Waste separation is not the main subject here; it is introduced into the story very unobtrusively but nonetheless integrally.

«The heroes of genre films, who combat myths in an original manner on the web site, are primarily employed to overturn myths and promote the subject of waste separation and recycling - Nováková explains - Compared to previous years, we are directing a far greater proportion of our activities towards the online environment, where an increasing fraction of the population is active and where it is possible to work longer and better with the user. Success is arriving as showe by our website that saw already over 100,000 visitors».

EKO KOM is experimenting new original and appealing strategies to communicate the waste separation and recycling. Its campaigns show the dynamic of a young business made by young people. Administrators, politicians and communicators could be inspired to modernize current campaigns that are often repetitive, limited in the media used and in messages proposed, which we citizens we are already used.

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“Amnisiadi: forgotten waste Olympic Games”: when the game gets green!

by Valeria Rocca

The third edition of "Amnisiadi: forgotten waste Olympic games." will be held on Sunday, Sept. 25, contemporaneously with "Clean Up the World", a historic initiative of Legambiente. The initiative, supported and promoted by the INFEA network (Regione Piemonte project on services for environmental education), by the City of Avigliana and by the Lakes of Avigliana Natural Park, will take place just in the park, in the Little Lake area.

But what is Amnisiadi? We asked Laura Grandin some questions. She is the manager of Antichi Passi, an organization which is in charge of the guided tours service of the Park and manages Institution's teaching programs in schools.

First of all, why did you choose the name "Amnisiadi"?
«AMNISIADI is a word pun. Amnesia is a temporary loss of memory, while "Amnis," is a dialect word to name trash. Using play is a way to alleviate the waste issue in order to make it accessible to all. The question is: “Can we forget about our waste?”».

What are, specifically, "Waste Olympic games"?
«The Olympics are a weird waste collection: a race along different routes in the Lakes area. Participants are symbolically divided into teams and they have to collect as much material as possible along trails, supported by “Antichi Passi”’s guides and by eco-volunteers from the city of Avigliana. Later in the afternoon, there will be different “waste-themed” challenges and, of course, the prize-giving».

Which themes will be addressed during the afternoon and, in general, throughout the day?
«Games tend to emphasize how long-lasting, bulky, dangerous and high-priced waste are. The separate refuse collection arouses problems: the recognition of materials as well as their proper delivery. We are talking about invisible waste too, like insecticides, pesticides, cleansers and urban and agricultural discharges».

Which goals do you want to attain?
«This event is part of a group of different initiatives called "Educational Incursions", addressed to citizens and, in this case, even to non-resident users of public areas in the municipality where activities take place. The equipped area of Lake Piccolo, during public holidays, is normally crowded much more than an ideal Proteccted Area. The problem of waste is only a portion of the difficulties in managing the site. Wildlife disturbance, fires lighting, bathing and surfing bans and public order complication are some of the others. We want to ironically emphasize how important is to prevent waste. Recycle and reuse are not sufficient, we want to integrate the series of best practices on waste management with “R for Refuse”».

In which way did you promote the initiative?
«City of Avigliana press office and Avigliana Park manager were in charge of promoting the event. Furthermore we use mailing lists and you can find all informations on the web».

In brief, this is a good opportunity for walking across the beautiful area of Avigliana lakes and for safeguarding the environment.

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Environment has a lead role in Milano

by Eleonora Anello

Milano Film Festival, in its sixteenth edition, decided to concentrate on environment protection trying to lower its impact on the hosting urban surroundings. There will be ten days of screenings dedicated to raise awareness on environment issues.

Many movies and many themes will be covered. The first one is “water”, in collaboration with CAP Holding, a public company that is in charge of the water system in 230 municipalities in Lombardia.For the second year, they have built up a “water’s house” in Piazza del Cannone and two water nozzles nearby the refreshment stands in order to deliver sparkling and still tap water without any transportation impact. The aim of the campaign is to request people not to consume plastic bottles and glasses. On every eco-glass and flask you can find the campaign slogan: “I drink tap water”.

«Milano Film festival’s care on environment combines with water public companies efforts to promote a sustainable employment of water – Alessandro Ramazzotti, CEO of CAP Holding explains – Put water at people’s disposal, in a meeting place such as a cinema festival, is an attempt to enhance tap water’s quality and to invite citizens not to waste it».

On the waste side, thanks to Amsa, a separate refuse collection system including paper, plastic and cans has been activated. If someone is not sure about the correct delivering of garbage can ask the Legambiente volunteers for help.

Milano Film Festival is also official partner of CiAI, the National Consortium for aluminum waste Recovery and Recycle. Cristina Gabetti – TV journalist and newscaster – will officiate a panel that will award the CiAI Prize for Environment to the best movie on environmental issues and sustainable development.

Lastly, landscapes will be protagonist in the “FAI il tuo film” contest. Italian Environment Fund (FAI) wants to enhance the best Italian places using cinema, part of its well-established campaign called “I luoghi del cuore”.

What else? Enjoy a sustainable view!

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Pomigliano d'Arco: between FIAT and eco-report

by Eleonora Anello

There has been much talking on April 4th, 2011, when they launched the news that the separate collection has got into the Fiat factories in Pomigliano.

«The Fiat - Raffaele Di Nicola said, the manager of Enama Spa, the company that manages the collection of urban waste in the city, at the launch of the campaign - has shown great sensitivity. The modernization of the plant for the production of the new Panda as well as the new mode of separation has created the opportunity to redesign the employee dining areas, adapting them to the needs of the new collection system». In fact, containers for paper were placed close to all offices and to each location. The car company has also scheduled meetings with all companies to inform them of the news about the environment.

In a press conference Di Raffaele said: «We are working with an innovative model of communication. Our campaign is silent. As a first step we have involved only the homogeneous subjects, including property and school managers, voluntary and environmental organizations, managers of both large and small companies and also traders. Our aim was to teach them about a direct communication towards the subjects they represent. Thus, firstly a word-of-mouth advertising along with posters and then, secondly, public meetings with the entire community of Pomigliano. The goal is to exceed 50% of separate waste collection by December 31st, 2011».

The campaign has involved not only the companies operating in the Campania region. The action created by the Fondazione Willy Brandt wanted to involve as protagonists especially families and schools. Enzo Pirone, FWB coordinator, has focused on the educational program at the heart of the campaign Riciclando (Recycling). «The boys of the fourth and fifth year of primary school will use the “Eco-report”, which is a mean of communicating with parents, but also a way to spread the idea of a good separate collection. By the use of the Eco-report, with a classic role reversal, they themselves will become protagonists, who, through questions and subsequent evaluations, will score their families’ behaviours and habits in the house management of wastes and separate collection. The Ecoreports will be collected and then digitized to be analyzed by experts, coordinated by FWB, in order to have a statistical analysis of the habits and behaviour of households». And it does not end here. The “Professor Recycling” has been put in charge of the relationship with the classes. By sporadic surveys he will be responsible for spreading the culture of sustainability through a theatrical approach, which should capture the attention and interest of kids who, in turn, will be called to create and dramatize a play and a performance on the theme of waste collection.

With an elaborate campaign of communication, which gets its strength from the use of a diversified language, understandable by everyone, Pomigliano d'Arco, already "Riciclone City", aims to become a centre of excellence in a critical area such as that of waste.
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Volunteers from all over Italy for waste collection Roberto Cavallo suggests a solution for Naples

Article published on 8th July 2011 on Italian newspaper “Il Fatto Quotidiano”

by Luca Mercalli

All we ask why in Naples the waste is in the streets and why it seems impossible to solve the age-old emergency. As it is not possible to give trivial answers, I ask for help to a waste expert, Roberto Cavallo, president of the cooperative ERICA of Alba (North-West Italy), a quite young business of excellence in this field.

Mr. Cavallo, lets start with a local context, what happens in the capital of Campania?
The situation of Naples waste is made ​​more complex than elsewhere by three abnormal conditions: high production per capita , low waste collection, but also the presence of organized crime, particularly in transport management. This situation, as highlighted in a study by the European Commission last December, not only have serious environmental repercussions, but it also causes a significant negative economic impact. This deficit is mainly due to direct causes, such as failure to recover the market value of materials (paper, glass, plastic, metals) and indirect causes such as the negative impact on tourism.

But at this point how can you move to find an effective solution?
Providing exit routes risks to be to an exercise of pure theory. Some positive notes allow us to foresee optimistic scenarios. The first ingredient is in the city of Naples itself, in fact, almost two hundred thousand Neapolitans for the past two years are served by a waste collection service at home that allows them to separate the two thirds, overpassing the 65% of recycling. The second ingredient is the people to whom the mayor De Magistris is entrusting , in particular the Councillor Tommaso Sodano, the confirmation of Daniele Fortini as CEO of ASIA and the nomination of Raphael Rossi as president of the municipal firm. The third ingredient is the increased sensitivity accompanied by as much desire for redemption of the Naples citizens where you can find evidences through the several blogs and websites.

But hthe years pass and the problem is not solved ...
Already in 2008 and January 2010 we faced the waste crisis in Naples. Among the proposals I made ​that time I would try to relaunch one: for a few months, all volunteers of the civil service, lets focus in Naples aided by volunteers from the civil protection and environmental voluntary, spread to all households containers and bags how the properly separate collection works. Meanwhile ASIA, in collaboration with other public companies united in Federambiente, carries the differentiated recovery materials to platforms indicated by CONAI and the Italian Composters Consortium, all under the supervision of Italian Government and the Judiciary power in order to exclude the Camorra from the waste cycle.

And if the other regions oppose to accommodate into their boundaries loads of waste from Campania?
Who would object to the transfer of already differentiated waste to the north, I remember how Naples landfills are full of dangerous waste coming also from the north; as an example I quote the 500,000 tons of hazardous toxic sludge resulting from the land reclamation of Acna of Cengio, between the provinces of Savona and Cuneo (north-west Italy), buried in the Pianura landfill.

In Italy remains the problem of the enormous amount of household waste that we produce: about 540 kg per capita per year, 1.5 kg of garbage per day. If we take away 30% of organic waste that could be readily composted in orchards, gardens and close plants, it remain almost four tons to be be differentiated and disposed for each of us. How to face this problem?
Indeed, the waste reduction and the concept, to whom I dedicated among other things, my latest book, Meno 100 chili (Less than 100 kilos), namely the waste prevention. There are dozens of daily actions that each of us can take to reduce itheir garbage amount ... It is the waste that does not exist. That it it not ncesessary to collect and transport or treat, and finally the waste that even the Camorra is not able to touch. More...

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Councillor’s secrets

by Daniela Zannetti

The human anthropic pression on environment and natural resources, in addiction to destruction of ecosystems, can generate threat against citizens health. Some environmental policies seek a reduction of the impact, acting on the waste disposal cycle. That’s the case of Rossella Zadro, Ferrara environmental councillor, which explains her initiatives on “reciprocity” for the reduction of garbage production, or composting to valorize organic matter without combustion.

Ferrara city councillor Rossella Zadro's "mutual" ambiental policies says «What keeps terms between entity and territories it's not money, whose create gradients, but is the "gift" that generate a common reciprocity». Zadro explains: «Recovering unsold goods at the end of the day, giving those to associations, helps to keep down the ammount of waste destined to dump». Zadro also support the idea of giving a TIA discount to sellers to gain a beneficial “gift” exchange for everyone implicated (Andrea Segrè’s Last Minute Market). «Or the recovery of still usefull drugs thanks to a public and private partership: universities, phamarcies and local governs , this operation allows a saving of 110 thousands euros on drugs and provide univeristary students formation credits. The result of this operation also gives to pharmaceutical companies the possibility of changing their "blister". We would like that companies are going to modify their production on the promise of wastage reduction».

“XI commandment should be: do not waste", a policy without hesitations for keeping up the demand of "ambient" from citizens. Like the "No" at Linea2 by multiutility Hera implant (waste and energy, water services) that were destined to burn 45 thousands Tons of biomass waste. «Mayors and municipalities should cleaning the air from the products of combustion- says the councillor- particulate matter (PM) emissions from Hera were destined to impact on an area already occupied by a petrolchimical implant and by a incinerator that dispose 130 thousand Tons of garbage».

It's a recent news: the petrolchimical implant will get a magistrature controlled activity after a citizens petition. A monitored territory where recovery is every day duty, even Hera is getting a tweak to reduce even more the emission that now are 10 times under the law's limits. «We cannot compute the social cost in terms of pubblic health wherever pollution is not controlled - explains Zadro who adds - Our rapports with Hera are good but even if burning biomasses is provided by the Regional Waste Plan we are shocked from the fact that in Bologna (Hera Ambiente) decisions are made by technicians without any policy evaluation. We work so hard on our the separate collection because we want it to be enhanced as compost and not as mere energy. Without this efforts we wouldn't give the 15% discount on the waste collection tax to those who practice composting, helping to reduce organic waste».

«Keeping in mind that we don't get any help from the national regulation, we designed some other projects with addictional TIA discount to merchants who utilize bulk water. We produce about 719 Kg pro capita garbage, with an experimental policy in a small area outside the center of the city, we detected a reduction of about 105Kg pro capita garbage which 45% is umid-organic waste. We distributed 1819 composters to citizens which 1270 of them asked for the discount, but we will proceed with some verification to assure there will not be pressures only on paying citizen. In our three-year plan with Hera- keep explaining Rossella - we setted some indicators to maintain and overcome the 65% separate collection law expected by 2012 on the 50% base achieved in 2010. Returning to Biomasses, there is an implant at Argenta, it's a short chain one and it's placed in open countryside. A 3MW impant in Ferrara would be unthinkable especially thinking there it would be a raise in truck traffic, already considerable, on the roads near the city».

Municipalities and national provinces should be doing universally recognized environmental pacts. Becoming low waste stakeholder with citizens. Agreeing on common ways between different administrations. Creating Life+ between Nord and South Italy Governs. Finally: building a sustainability net.
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Environment from limit to value. A political experience

by Roberto Cavallo

The pages of the book by Renzo Penna “Environment from limit to value", subtitled “political and administrative experienc "(Editori Riuniti University Press) are 540, but when you have finished them you realize that they could have been even more and you would not feel hard to read.

The tone that comes from the pages is the typical one of those who approach environmental issues: enthusiast!

I met Renzo Penna while he was in charge at the Province of Alessandria as Councillor for the Environment, accompanied by his skillful staff and I immediately understood the cultural approach that he wants to give to his political mandate, and perhaps the main ingredient of his suffered, but resolute resignation.

Yeah, because anyone who deals with environmental issues sighting beyond the electoral mandate and interpreting the essence of sustainable development – the one caged by the Brundtland definition of leaving their environment at least in the same conditions in which it was inherited - is likely to be misunderstood.

And that's what we read in the pages of Renzo Penna; of that environment that perhaps for a while has been a limit for him, but that has suddenly turned into a value: the value is much more than the price, because you cannot buy the value is can buy, you cannot sell it, you cannot discount!

This is the feeling that takes the reader who reads the chapters of the Water, sailing firstly the Orba river and its contract of the river, then from the Tanaro and Bormida rivers, overcoming the tragic events of chemical pollution of ACNA insdustry and the flooding of 1994.

The value of human health and life, infinitely superior than the profit, is what characterizes the dramatic chapter on Air and the paragraph on asbestos.

I find again in the pages of the chapter on waste the real footprint left by Renzo and his administrative experience, that I had the fortune to live professionally. The stubbornly insist on wanting a provincial waste plan based heavily on waste reduction and materials recovery through door-to-door waste separate collection, beyond the political difficulties, makes Justice to Renzo Penna for having pioneered the EU directive that calls Member States and local authorities to set their own programs and plans.

The imprinting of the councilor Penna does not stop at his pages, but fortunately it is directly on the territory, so much so that according to the latest official data of the Piedmont Region are at least thirty municipalities in the province that recycle more than 65% of its municipal waste and some municipalities such as Bassignana or Castelletto Monferrato that have greatly reduced their waste to landfill and throw only 65 kg per inhabitant per year, just that if everyone does this, the Province of Alessandria wouldn’t have problems of urban waste management.

I would like to close with a small editorial critic. I saw better the chapter “Ecolavori” (Green jobs) as the closure, after the chapter on energy because Ecolavori has been and continues to be a unique experience at the national level, as I think unique was also the administrative experience of Renzo Penna that is so well described in the book I invite you to read.
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First goals of the National for the Environment

by Giuseppe Totaro

Positive debut for the newly “Nazionale per l’Ambiente”, the official football club formed by the representatives of ecology and environmental sustainability throughout Italy, under the sponsorship of CONAI, Italian National Packaging Consortium.

The occasion was the triangle "In campo per l’Ambiente", held at the Michele Coppino in Alba, Italy, last Friday as part of the "Festa dell’Ambiente", which saw the "green team" opposed to the National Team of Italian Mayors and a selection of Albese Calcio.

For the occasion, the national "green", led by coach Giancarlo Longhi's, wore a unique shirt, made of fabric, ideal for sports, made from recycled PET flakes from the collection of plastic bottles. Coming to the field, the first challenge for the Nazionale per l’Ambiente was against the National Team of Italian Mayors and saw this one prevail with the score of 5-2. It was Luigi Bosio who got the satisfaction of the first goal in the history of the "green team”, scoring on a a penalty kick at 21 minute.The second goal came thanks to the great technical act of Michele Rizzello, author of a beautiful stuffed with ball into the top corner in the last minute of the match. In the second challenge, the '"Green Team" had to surrender to Albese Calcio, victorious with the score of 5-0. In the third and decisive encounter Albese got the better of measure, 3-2, on the Italian National Mayors.

Afterward, there was held the awards ceremony with prizes for the best fans and for the three teams, who received trophies that were strictly "zero waste".

«The positive values of sport -says Walter Facciotto, General Director of CONAI- blend well with the environmental values of recycling. We wanted to support such an initiative to alert the public of the importance in our society that the collection and recycling for environmental protection have».

A positive opinion also for Roberto Cavallo, President of Erica and captain of the "Green Team": «In this moment when environmental issues are increasingly taking a central role in economic and political agendas, it is essential to increase the channels of communication and awareness citizens.In Italy the idea of combining a popular sport like soccer to raise awareness of environmental issues seems to us winning».

The next match of the Nazionale per l’Ambiente, pictures and any news will be available on site www.nazionaleperlambiente.it or on Facebook page of the team. More...

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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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Extended producer responsibility: a conference in Rome on Wednesday

by Silvia Musso

It will be held on Wednesday, June 15th the international conference "Extended Producer Responsibility: weaknesses and strengths of an innovative strategy", organized by Low Impact and ERICA in Roma, in the Sala della Mercede of the Deputies Chamber.

The extended producer responsibility (EPR) is a strategy designed to promote the integration of environmental costs incurred in the production and use of a product, during its life cycle, in the price of the product itself. It has been officially introduced in the legal system with the European Waste Framework Directive 98/2008 and implemented by the Italian Government by Decree 205/10. Now the Italian Government has the task, through specific decrees to regulate its implementation.

Therefore the conference is aimed at focusing on weaknesses and strengths of the application of this strategy in Italy and Europe, under different points of view.

Roberto Cavallo, President of ERICA, leader buniness in Italy for environmental communication, will moderate the conference. Then the following speakers are planned: Andrea Cinosi, President of Low Impact; Pietro Di Paolo, Councillor for Productive Activities and waste of the Lazio Region; Thomas Lindhqvist, University of Lund (Sweden), will talk about the European experience, while Angelo Monfredini (Xerox SpA), Luigi Langella (Seat) and Walter Facciotto (CONAI - National Packaging Consortium) will bring the voice of firms about the EPR.

«The Low Impact Association was founded with the aim of spreading the culture of environmental savings and create the conditions for all subjects to be facilitated by adopting concrete commitments in this way - says Andrea Cinosi President of Low Impact. Since this is the first time that an issue of such importance is deepened in an authoritative way in Italy, the conference organized in cooperation with ERICA, is a testimony to the successful strategy adopted by Low Impact, which aims to promote environmental savings and promote a synergic action of all actors involved in environmental protection, as demonstrated by significantly complex and sensitive issues such as the Extended Producer Responsibility».

«Only a close cooperation between local companies and citizens allow a real sustainable development - explains Roberto Cavallo, President of ERICA. In this context, thinking about waste, to allow citizens to do a good waste separate collection and to companies to be competitive, it is necessary to use less resources and their complete recyclability. The first experiences in Europe and in Italy demonstrate how this combination, catalysed by the public authorities, is the synthesis of a winning approach, also for a local diffused economy that can overcome the crisis through reuse, recovery and repair of items that require precisely the manufacturer's responsibility that does not end with the placing of the property market, but targets the reuse of the product itself, even in other forms. This conference is the first occasion in Italy to reflect on how the application in Italy of the art. 8 of the Waste Framework Directive may offer new ways towards goals of sustainability that will lead to reset the waste for disposal». More...

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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 barter of the can

by Francesca Maio

From waste to cinema: is it really possible? It 's just what happens in Pamplona, Spain. Here, to promote recycling and to make pro active citizens, Mancomunidad de la Comarca de Pamplona, a local authority very active in environmental matters, has installed an automatic station that receives and divides cans and bottles and turning them into rewards points, which are converted to movie tickets.

The initiative is a news in Spain while similar systems are already operating in Australia, the United States and some European countries like Germany, England, Scandinavia and Holland.
Some years ago, in Italy a similar experience has been developed by MrPet Keo. This is an innovative system that rewards the commitment of citizens in sorting waste by translating the amount of recycled bottles in loyalty points, and then discounts and promotions in stores belonging to the circuit.

Curious is the promotion and communication strategy adopted by MrPET: to support the concept of environmental sustainability, in May 2010, MrPet has decided to become a sponsor of the cycling Tour of Sardinia. Through the video screen of its stations, it also promotes environmental friendly choices every day, which are projected by the information and tips for an efficient, affordable and environmentally sustainable shopping.

Here an interview with KEO Ltd, an eco-design company in Piedmont that deals with MrPet.

The problem of sorting waste is a current concept in Italy and Mr. Pet is a virtuous initiative. How is it developing in Italy?
MrPET is a system waste separate collection of award-winning packaging in PET. In a context where the re-use of waste materials has an increasing value both economically and environmentally, the development potential of MrPET is very high. Now MrPET stations are located in Piedmont, Valle d'Aosta, Sardinia and France. The distribution will be enhanced in the near future, with partnership with new supermarket.

Mr. Pet in Italy is related to stores of supermarket in Lombardy, Piedmont and Valle d'Aosta. Why the choice of the partnership has been only on the GDO? Is the activation of new stations planned in the near future?
A large amount of water bottles are sold in supermarkets, MrPET recycling bottles is a useful service to reduce the environmental impact of point of sale. The social value of MrPET is also much higher as many people can achieve: so supermarkets were our first partners. The structure of a supermarket, then, can more easily meet the technical requirements needed to install the machines (availability of electricity, space for the storage of crushed bottles, etc.).. We are still developing new ways of working that include other subjects. For example, we are thinking about an integrated system that involves a network of small and medium-sized shops.

What was the reaction of people to Mr. Pet?
The reaction is very positive. MrPET is a virtuous chain through which the bottles from waste has become a new raw material in value. Value that MrPET recognizes to those who bring their own packaging in PET stations across the country. The high number of points charged on the personal card (directly proportional to the bottles ) is the best demonstration of the success of the project and the activism of citizens, notwithstanding the difficulties that inevitably involves an advanced system. With the collected bottles Mr PET produces shopping baskets and trolleys, fabric (KeoVelvet), stationery, household goods. More...

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The “AcchiappaRifiuti”: the a new service of CIS

by Valeria Rocca

An itinerant eco-van across the squares of some Tuscany towns: the AcchiappaRifiuti is the new service sponsored by CIS (Urbaine Services), in collaboration with the municipalities of Quaratta, Agliana Montale and that will help citizens to rightly collect and dispose the most difficult kind of waste.

After a couple of months from the starting up service, we met Tesi Graziano, responsible of Territorial Services Company CIS, who answered to some questions.

Could you, briefly, explain the operation of AcchiappaRifiuti and objectives you want to achieve with this new service?
«The AcchiappaRifiuti was born from the experience that CIS has leaded over the years with Maciste, the ecological platform for the waste collection . This is an eco-van touring that stands, every two weeks, close to the squares of the market street of the three municipalities served by our company (Agliana, Montale e Quarrata).The AcchiappaRifiuti collect those little household waste that we can’t, nor should, be deposited in road bins, such as small appliances, kitchen vegetable oil, expired medicines, lamps, etc. .. With this service Cis seeks to promote recycling, but also raise awareness and help citizens in the delivery of certain types of waste and recycling. A further objective, important for the company, is the availability of our staff who is in contact with the citizens providing a kind of "information point"».

What communication strategy CIS adopted to explain and to introduce the service AcchiappaRifiuti?
«Our company has used the mass media channels such as print and television, and organized a communication campaign based on the dissemination of press releases and distribution of brochures over the use of IT media (websites of the concerned municipal )». Are you satisfied with the results obtained through the planned communication campaign? «We are pleased with the results, because the initiative is quite well known by citizens, despite being active for only two months. Anyway The communication campaigns is not over, but it is continually renewed by the presence on the territory of the AcchiappaRifiuti».

After a couple of months what is the budget for the new service dedicated to the citizens? Were the objectives achieved?
«About achieving the objectives, we believe that it is too early, after only two months after the activation because the first "step" of verification will be on next June. But, surely, we can say the results are positives, looking for example the number people involved over the expectations and the significant amounts of vegetable oil and small appliances, and other quantities of materials to conferred AcchiappaRifiuti, such as paints, toners, batteries, expired medicines. Positive results also with respect to the assessment of consumer acceptance».

The new initiative is part of several new initiatives taken by the Consortium forInter-Services.
These include the restyling of the website, the implementation of the relevant part of the forms, the survey of customer satisfaction and the opportunity to interact directly from the web with the company for the management of certain on-line practices. More...

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