Ecomondo Digital Edition 2020: from Green Economy to recycling, on how we can better Italy

GREEN ECONOMY: THE PROPOSALS OF THE STATES GENERAL

On the 3^rd of November the States General of the Green Economy have begun. The day began with a speech by Edo Ronchi, president of the Sustainable Development Foundation. The Green Deal confirms its role as the way to stronger longer-lasting recovery in Italy – said Ronchi, -- This is the direction in which the Next Generation EU funds should be addressed. Using these resources now and well to achieve carbon neutrality within 2050 means avoiding having to face another serious global crisis after the Covid-19 epidemic crisis: that of climate change. Ronchi presented a Report, on the occasion of the first day of Ecomondo Digital Edition, which put on disposal a package of proposals to complete the transition to the Green Economy in Italy. Proposals that range from technological innovations for the production of green hydrogen to incentives for plastic and the reduction of Italy’s private motorization rate to less than 500 cars per 1,000 inhabitants within 2030, through to the increase of organic agriculture, the cutting of chemical fertilizers and a gradual carbon tax.

THE OPPORTUNITY FOR FILLING THE PLANT GAP

At the organized event on the situation of waste management plants in Italy, the president of Fise Assoambiente, Chicco Testa, presented the analysis put forth by his firm. There is a lack of plants for handling the humid fraction or that which ends up in the incinerators, with the result that every day hundreds of thousands of tons of waste travel along Italian roads, or are even transported abroad. Testa said that to achieve the European Circular Economy targets (65% recycling and 10% in landfills by 2035 for municipal waste), Italy is faced with a unique opportunity: the funds of the Next Generation plan, which will be able to support the necessary investments (10 billion euros) to fill the national plant gap by the construction of 70 recycling and energy recovery plants.

THE RIGHT LABELING TO FIGHT FOOD WASTE

At a meeting transmitted today on the Ecomondo digital platform, organized by the Technical Scientific Committee, Confagricoltura, Federalimentare and ENEA, Alexandra Nikolakopoulou, leader of Unit 1 of ´Farm to Fork´ strategy, described the 10-year plan prepared by the European Commission to guide the transition towards a food system that is fair, healthy that respects the environment, for the first time in cooperation with all the agrifood players. By 2030 the use of chemical pesticides must be halved, as must the total sales of antimicrobials for farm animals and antibiotics for aquaculture, the use of fertilizers will have to be reduced by 20% and 25% of farmland dedicated to organic farming. Then, to pursue the harmonization of countries regarding packaging matters, the fight would have to be against food and beverage fraud, via labelling. This in particular is fundamental for fighting food waste. This topic was also covered by Ivano Vacondio, president of Federalimentare, who said that labelling should follow a European standard.

BIOGAS TELLS OF BEST PRACTICES

The Italian Biogas Consortium is welcomed back at Ecomondo Digital Edition with the organization of an event on improving performance thanks to biomass. The president of IBC, Piero Gattoni, said: Through the years an increasingly solid widespread collaboration has been built up between the companies of a sector that is characterized by great technological innovation, able to make important investments and achieve results in employment during the process of agroecological transition. With our members, in our digital Forum Area we are presenting the best practices and the best technologies available, such as the process of anaerobic digestion.

WASTE COLLECTION AND RECYCLING

At the event on recycling hosted by Unitalia – represented by Director of Unitalia Circular Economy Unit, Luca Mariotto – in collaboration with the Technical Scientific Committee, the main discussion was about the need for a leap from a cultural, political, regulatory and industrial point of view, which leads to a different integrated vision of the waste issue and in end-of-waste matters. The moderator of the meeting, Emmanuel Katrakis, Secretary General EuRIC, described the next challenges to be faced at European level to achieve circular economy targets. Regulatory action, on a national front, was also covered by the speech by Elisabetta Confalonieri, Director, Circular Economy unit of the Lombardy Region, who described the key points of the update to Lombardy´s Regional Waste Management Program.