“A pilot project of absolute interest, that had been proven to be effective and in which we have to invest”, Tuscany Minister for Environemnt said.
On 2 April 2019, the Region Tuscany hosted the final event concluding the activites related to the URBAN-WASTE project. Actually, it’s only the beginning.
The project has brought positive results, encouraging regional and local policy-makers to further invest on innovative solutions aiming at reducing waste production and optimizing resource management, boosting the transition to circular economy.
Ms. Federica Frantoni, Tuscany Regional Minister for Environemnt, has expressed her enthusiasm for the great results achieved through URBAN-WASTE: in 8 months of piloting, the 4 hotels involved in food waste prevention have collected 1240 kg of food and around 155 liters of beverages, all of them donated to charities taking care of people in need.
During the vent, the Regional Minister has highlighted the will and the necessity to keep on investing and promoting sustainable practices towards circular economy: according to the latest data elaborated by ARRR, Regional Agency for Resource Recovery, in 2017, considering Florence only, 237.131 tons of urban waste have been produced. Impressive numbers – highly influenced by the huge amount of tourists that the capital of Tuscany attracts every year – that make further and wider initiatives essential.
In partnership with Publiacqua, the regional water management authority, the Municipality of Florence and the Region have implemented another impactful measure: 22 drinking fountains have been installed all around the historical city centre of the city, reaching the record of 12 millions of water erogated in 2018. This has allowed a substantial advantage on both the environemntal and the economic sides: 8 million of plastic bottles have not been produced, saving more than 3 million EUR.
In conclusion, the URBAN-WASTE project has once more demonstrated the absolute importance of establishing diffuse and bottom-up strategies for waste prevention and minimization as an essential tool to move towards full circoluar economy.
