This is the theme of Prof.’s conference. Paolo Calabrò, professor of the Mediterranean University of Reggio Calabria at the DICEAM Department, where the professor directs the Environmental Health Engineering Laboratory of the same University.
One of the main threats to the environment, terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, comes from poor waste management. Indiscriminate disposal practices can introduce dangerous chemicals into soil, water bodies and air, causing long-term and potentially irreversible damage to flora and fauna, negatively impacting biodiversity, damaging entire ecosystems and entering the human food chain.
Among other things, at this moment the global socio-economic system is going through profound changes which are stimulated by demographic growth, environmental problems (primarily global warming) but also by scientific and technological innovation.
In the ongoing economic and energy transition, waste management plays a fundamental role. Italy has a long tradition in this sector that dates back to the last years of the last millennium and which has allowed it to achieve notable goals at a national level.
At a local level the results are anything but comforting, it is therefore necessary to increase citizens’ awareness of this delicate issue through scientific dissemination and environmental education initiatives.
