Palermo calls Lucca in waste separation management. The right recipe for the best waste management is based on two fundamental ingredients: correct separate waste collection combined with efficient service and treatment systems. In Palermo, there is no shortage of ingredients for the correct collection and valorisation of beverage cartons (such as milk and fruit juice containers) and precisely to encourage citizens to dispose of them in the right way, i.e. in the light multi-material bin (plastic and metals) Comieco, the National Consortium for the recovery and recycling of cellulosic packaging, in collaboration with the Municipality of Palermo and RAP, presented the communication campaign “In plasticaaa?? Yes” on air from July 1st.
This is a new collection method for this type of packaging, which until recently was managed with paper. A change made possible by the presence in the area of a new plant – Ecorek in Termini Imerese, technologically among the most advanced at a national level – capable of selecting beverage cartons efficiently within the multi-material collection (to which in the coming months should be supported by the LCR system with a manual selection) – and by the presence of a high number of beverage cartons within the multi-material flow recorded by analyzes carried out on this specific collection channel.
Once recovered, this packaging is sent for recycling in the Lucart paper mill (in the province of Lucca) which valorises all its components: the cellulose fibers become new sheets of excellent quality paper for the production of hygiene articles (handkerchiefs, toilet paper, napkins). While, plastic and aluminum are used to create new everyday objects, such as household items.
“Beverage cartons represent almost 2% of all multi-material waste collection in the province of Palermo – explains Roberto Di Molfetta, Deputy Director of Comieco – We estimate that in 2024 – thanks to the new campaign – the collection of these packaging can have an important boost going from 3 to 12 beverage cartons recovered annually by each citizen and therefore for Palermo from 2 to 7.5 million packages, from milk to small fruit juice packages. An opportunity that also brings economic benefits: the economic payments that Comieco recognizes to the city for their valorization would increase by approximately 60 thousand euros and which would thus be added to the over 500 thousand euros per year already paid for the start of paper recycling and cardboard correctly sorted”.
“The municipal administration in synergy with the supply chain consortia and RAP is launching various initiatives in the Palermo area that encourage citizens towards environmental sustainability and the recyclability of materials if they are correctly separated. – declares Pietro Alongi, councilor for environmental policies – The selected waste is taken through the service manager to the selection plants affiliated with Conai, where a further mechanical separation of the various components takes place. In particular, the synergistic work with the Comieco consortium which, we thank for the opportunity, aims to create a city on a human scale, increasingly ecological in terms of waste reduction”.
“This agreement with Comieco – comments the president of Rap Giuseppe Todaro – represents a further step forward which allows us to increasingly raise users’ awareness of correct separate waste collection by focusing on quality. With this new disposal method, not only the cardboard for drinks can be recycled again, but in this way the cardboard fraction will also acquire an important economic value. The collection fee for this type of fraction expected by Comieco will amount to approximately 185 euros per ton – continues Todaro – if we consider that this type of waste was often out of range without the possibility, therefore, of being recycled and remunerated”.
“The objective – he adds – is to make the fraction of differentiated material, in this case the carton for liquid drinks, to be brought to the platforms accredited by Conai increasingly qualified in the selection, so that the non-differentiated residue to be sent to landfill is reduced. This campaign is part of a larger project that I would like to bring us ever closer to the sustainability standards of a European city. In this specific case, we will open the doors of the paper and cardboard recycling chain to schools, citizens, institutions and all those who are involved. interested in understanding what happens to paper and cardboard once placed in the appropriate containers and the usefulness of their daily commitment to separate waste collection. For this reason – concludes Todaro – I want to thank those who are contributing to this project: from our resources, both human and instrumental, to the supply chain consortia, such as Comieco, who are increasingly committed to supporting the city and the RAP for the strengthening of separate waste collection”.
The campaign presented this morning at the RAP headquarters in Piazzetta Cairoli in the presence of the councilor for environmental policies, Pietro Alongi, the Deputy Director of Comieco, Roberto Di Molfetta and the President of the RAP, Giuseppe Todaro will be active for two weeks on various media channels (posters, press, digital, local radio and TV).
