An App to control the type and quantity of waste in the bins, capable of developing reports to educate users to improve separate waste collection. It is one of the initiatives of N0W (Nearly Zero Waste), the new plan for waste management of theUniversity of Pisa which aims to make the university environment more sustainable, also thanks to the help of artificial intelligence.
The project – developed together with CONAI (National Packaging Consortium) and Contarina SpA – was presented today on the occasion of the signing of the memorandum of understanding “Sustainable Pisa” between the Municipality and the University.
Educate the university population of 50 thousand people to produce less waste
N0W started from an assessment of the anthropic impact of Pisan university population: around 50 thousand people including students and staff. According to a sample estimate, the annual waste production is approximately 50 kilos per capita excluding the canteens managed by the DSU, in total there would be over 350 tonnes of multi-material produced, 1000 tonnes of paper and around 1200 tonnes of undifferentiated waste.
To properly manage the waste sortingand arrive in the future at produce less wastevarious initiatives will be implemented starting with communication and training campaigns throughout the University.
“We hope to be able to improve waste separation by at least 20 percentage points when we are fully operational – explained the vice-rector of Sustainability and Agenda 2030 of the University of Pisa, Elisa Giuliani – the N0W project involves a reorganization of internal processes, new technologies and infrastructures and also new collaborations with external actors such as CONAI and the Municipality of Pisa”.
The actions envisaged by the NoW project
Among the actions that the NoW project will implement are new vending machines for drinks and snacks with the reduction of packaging and the introduction of compostable material which will be collected as organic fraction, the strengthening of the use of water bottles and dispensers to reduce single-use plastic, the establishment of a procedure for organizing “Eco events” in the University, the creation of functional eco-islands to separate waste collection.
“The issues of sustainability and the 2030 Agenda are a priority, this requires very close collaboration with local authorities and in particular with the Municipality – added the rector of the University of Pisa Riccardo Zucchi – the N0W project will also make use of apps and technology, but the protocol also covers other areas, water management and urban greenery without forgetting the scope of training”.
