Once upon a time there was the problem of garbage, of saturated landfills and streets flooded with bags. Once upon a time precisely, because in recent years Italy has managed to make significant progress in the management of urban and industrial waste. So far as to become real European model in separate collection, ahead of countries like Germany, France or the UK.
A record-breaking separate collection
Italy, queen of separate waste collection: this is what the Urban Waste Report of the Higher Institute for Research and Environmental Protection. In the last year, in fact, the beautiful country has managed to reach a very high percentage of recycling: of the garbage produced over 75% is reused, with some cities even reaching 90%. No one in the old continent can boast such numbers. In Germany, which has always been seen as a model, only 43% of the waste produced is recycled. A little better England (44%) and France with 54%. The EU average is instead just 36%, above all due to (de) merit of some eastern countries which still make massive use of landfills and the like. But how did these figures come about in Italy?
The Italian model
Over the past decades many Italian cities have suffered, almost dramatically, the waste problem. Full landfills, dated disposal centers and a community not particularly inclined to recycling: a decidedly unfavorable picture for Italy. Then something changed. New policies, consortia, incentives and investments of various kinds have stimulated a sector that has been inactive for some time. But it has grown above all citizen awareness, which have made recycling their most lethal weapon in the fight against pollution. In this way it was possible to facilitate recycling work, doubling the numbers in less than 10 years. And it wasn't just the environment that gained. Italy is in fact the second European country (after Germany) in terms of turnover and workforce employed in the collection and disposal processes. Of course, the problems in some areas of the country are still many, but the path taken seems to be the right one.
