“The picture that emerges from reading the data published by Arpa Umbria relating to separate waste collections in the fourth quarter of 2023 is a distressing picture for Sub-area 3”. This is the comment of the Foligno and Spoleto circles of Legambiente, which intervene in relation to the – provisional – data regarding waste collection in the last three months of last year. While waiting for the definitive and certified annual data from the Region, the publication of which is expected as usual at the beginning of summer, for Legambiente “it is already possible to make the first final considerations of a year which for Valle Umbra Servizi was the yet another in which no improvement was recorded.” Looking closely at the separate waste collection data provided by Arpa Umbria and reported by Legambiente, Sub area 3 (i.e. the 22 municipalities of the Umbrian Valley and Valnerina) stands at an average of 57%, “i.e. 9 points below that regional which however remains stable. Perhaps the annual data will shift by a few percentage points – says Legambiente – but in any case the quarterly data are the truly indicative ones to evaluate whether any changes to the service have produced quantitative results”.
This is what the environmentalist association continues: “Spoleto, which in 2022 had just overtaken Foligno with an annual 62%, in the fourth quarter confirmed the same percentage, without any advancement and improvement. Same thing for the municipality of Foligno which has remained stuck at 60% for years, point more point less. Even the other municipalities do not shine: Nocera with 30% and Montefalco with 44% confirm the usual delays, despite some timid signs of improvement. Spello stands at 61%, Bevagna at 58.8% and Trevi, once the excellence of the Umbrian Valley, is suddenly worsening (64% in the fourth quarter). In Valnerina we go from the miserable 3% of Poggiodomo, to 51% of Santa Anatolia but even this without improvements”. Then, the environmentalists go on the attack: “How is it possible – ask Legambiente Foligno and Legambiente Spoleto – that in a company entirely controlled by the member municipalities, these have neither individually nor collectively the possibility of influencing the strategic choices of the agency? Three years ago, Vus announced an industrial plan, never made public to citizens and associations – the two Legambiente circles continue – which should have included a remodulation of services which evidently either were not implemented or were insufficient, if not bankrupt.”
The remodulation, both in Foligno and Spoleto, concerned only the collection calendar which was standardized on 15-day collections both for condominiums with 40-litre buckets and in single houses with 240-litre bins. A solution that facilitated the service but certainly did not increase collection performance and dissatisfied many citizens.
“This inaction in Valle Umbra and Valnerina is not understandable and above all not acceptable – conclude Legambiente Foligno and Legambiente Spoleto -. We need a drastic change of direction, with a coherent and efficient reorganization that involves the involvement of communities. We need measures to reduce waste at source, reuse strategies, localization of separate waste collection, valorisation of secondary materials and implementation of recycling chains. Examples that ensure good management of urban waste with high percentages and good quality of separate waste collection also exist in Umbria, just copy”.
