MILAN – “Once again the Veneto is confirmed as the number one region in Italy in urban waste management”. These are the first words of regional councillor for environmental policies of the Veneto region, Gianpaolo Bottacin, during the presentation of the recent separate waste collection report. Presented in Venice and drafted by the Regional Waste Disposal Observatory established at the Regional Agency for Environmental Prevention and Protection, the Veneto has again been confirmed as one of the most virtuous regions of the country.
The report
The report confirms the positive trend recorded in separate waste collection, which has reached 65%, almost two percentage points more than the previous year (+1.8) against an overall urban waste production of about 2,241,000 tons, in slight increase (+1.3%), for 455 kg of per capita production (+1.2%), the latter being a value amongst the lowest in Italy in spite of the fact that the Veneto has an elevated GDP and registers more than 60 million tourists a year. Overall, urban waste used in recycling in 2014 amounted to about 1.5 million tons, with an increase of 4.3% with respect to the previous year. There has also been a reduction of urban waste disposed of in incinerating systems in Padova and in Schio, equal to 188 thousand tons a year (-12.5%), and a slight increase (+1.9%) in waste collected in the 11 waste dumps operating in the Veneto, for a total 128 thousand tons. With regard to data on separate waste collection in the different provinces: Treviso has reached the highest figure with 79%, followed by Belluno with 69%, Vicenza with 67%, Rovigo and Verona 63%, Padova 62% and Venice 58%. Venice remains below the national objective due to the difficulties posed by waste management in the historic centre of the city and in the coastal locations characterized by massive tourism.
The objective
The data is very positive and in line with the objectives of the Regional Waste Management Plan which aims to reach 76% of separate waste collection by 2020, a threshold which was already surpassed in 2014 by 163 municipalities. Furthermore, the Veneto was the first region in Italy to have exceeded the 65% target for separate waste collection provided by the national law. The principle elements of success are the spreading of home-to-home collection also of dry waste such as paper, glass, plastic and organic waste, the elevated presence on the territory of waste collection centres, the considerable developments in the recycling industry and proportioning the fees of the service to the amount of waste produced throughout the majority of the territory.
by editorial staff
