“The Municipality of Messina can now say that it has avoided a crisis in waste management that has affected many other Sicilian municipalities, thanks to the decision, taken in good time, to disengage from the waste treatment plant in Lentini for a plant in Termini Imerese”declares in a note the councilor with responsibility for Waste Cycle Infrastructure Planning, Francesco Caminiti.
“In fact, the sudden closure of the Lentini plant – continues the Councilor – due to the lack of regional authorizations, has put about two hundred municipalities in eastern Sicily in difficulty, leaving many without immediate solutions for the disposal of unsorted waste. The decision to change the system was already part of the overall strategy of the Municipality of Messina, highlighting the foresight of the municipal administration”.
“Effective planning”
“Thanks to effective planning and collaboration between the Municipality of Messina, SRR Metropolitan City and Messinaservizi Bene Comune, Messina has found a timely and advantageous alternative solution. This new plant was identified through a tender called by SRR Metropolitan City. The tariff of the Termini Imerese plant is approximately 275 euros per ton, significantly lower than the 350 euros per ton requested by the Lentini plant, with peaks that exceeded 420 euros per ton last year. Despite the slightly higher transport costs, the overall savings are significant and will translate into a further reduction in TARI tariffs for the citizens of Messina. The transition to the new plant has brought immediate benefits and will produce others for the future.“, explains Caminiti.
“Waste accumulation avoided”
“Immediately, it was then possible to avoid the accumulation of waste in the streets of Messina, thanks to the assignment which made it possible to dispose of over 500 tons of waste accumulated in the days following the closure of Lentini. In the long term, the contract with the Termini Imerese plant offers stability and predictability in costs, allowing savings of approximately 2.5 million euros per year. A crucial role in this success was played by our attention to separate waste collection, which reached 55.4% in 2023 and has already exceeded 57% during the year 2024. This high rate of differentiation has reduced the amount of unsorted waste, making its disposal easier and less expensive“, Caminiti underlines.
“Suffice it to say that in 2018 the waste sent for disposal was 98,443.8 tonnes with a percentage of RD equal to 18% (approximately the current percentages of Catania and Palermo). At a current unit cost of 350 euros/ton, the overall cost of waste disposal, without the current waste sorting percentages, would have been over €30,000,000, compared to a cost incurred in 2023 of just €15,000,000″, highlights Caminiti.
“The quality and cleanliness of waste collected separately, allow the Municipality of Messina to consider equipping itself with a medium-sized plant, which allows for the valorization of the Residual Urban Waste (the so-called undifferentiated) that comes from the separate collection. This waste contains in itself products that could be previously selected and not sent for disposal, favoring instead those that can be recovered (energy or material) or recycled”, concludes Councillor Caminiti.
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