An appeal to Minister Pichetto Fratin to ask for an urgent discussion and decisive intervention on the topic of waste management resulting from the maintenance of parks and gardens.
The letter was jointly signed by Agci, Aiel, Cia, Cna, Confagricoltura, Confartigianato, Confcooperative, Fiper, Legacoop and Uncem to avoid the risk that these residues could be considered waste and therefore no longer valorisable as by-products within a circular economy process, in particular for the production of renewable energy.
The request follows what emerged in the context of the discussion table on the topic of management of urban green maintenance residues which took place at the MASE last 2 April and the recent response 3078471 of 26 April 2024, provided by the offices of the European Commission following a request forwarded by the Ministry itself, which risks preventing the use of green cuttings and prunings for the production of energy, classifying them as waste, always and in any case, despite the fact that they can be usefully used as by-products pursuant to the ‘art. 184 of the Consolidated Environmental Law, without any risk to the environment or health.
The effect is disruptive for operators in the forest-wood-energy supply chain and beyond. Entire sectors are at risk with devastating effects on the country system level. In fact, renewable energy systems, with particular reference to centralized and biomass heating systems, could no longer use these residues (because they are not authorized for waste management), with a rigid effect on the supply of wood chips and a relative increase of its price. Even for the Municipalities, the effect of the measure is negative given that there would be an overload of the waste management systems and an increase in the related management costs with repercussions also on the tariffs for citizens.
A restrictive interpretation, which, moreover, does not find correspondence in the regulations of other European states, prejudices our national companies and risks also calling into question the qualification of by-products of residues deriving from other sectors, with a cascade effect both in terms economic and environmental. A relegation of more than 15 years. An intervention by Minister Pichetto Fratin is therefore urgent to encourage the path oriented towards the circular economy, energy transition and carbon neutrality.
The signatory associations declare their willingness immediately to collaborate with the offices of the Ministry for the definition of a rule that allows the cascade use of wood, the valorisation of residues from the maintenance of parks and gardens as well as forests, and which can move towards a development model based on the circular economy, without ambiguity and regulatory doubts that slow down the process of transition, energy independence and abandonment of fossil fuels.
