March 30th will again be International Zero Waste Day, first debuted in 2023 by the United Nations General Assembly [1], which proclaimed it in December 2022. This day aims to address the serious impact of waste on human health, the economy and the environment by promoting the transition to a circular economy.

“The waste crisis is undermining the Earth’s ability to sustain life in all its forms. Waste costs the global economy billions of dollars each year”

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres

In Italy, as in the rest of the world, there is still a long way to go, but something good is there! In fact, the Italian recycling chain is a well-established industrial sector, which achieves much higher percentages of recycled waste than the European average [2]. However, we can and must do even better!

Figure 1: Waste treatment by type of recovery and disposal, 2022 (% of total treatment) Source: Eurostat (env_wastrt)

Efforts at global, European, national, local and household level must now be directed towards reducing waste at source. As can be seen from the following graph, which shows how plastic waste is treated in Europe, the amount of plastic that is recycled is increasing over the years, but the amount that is incinerated is also increasing. Finally, that which ends up in landfills shows no sign of decreasing.

It is not only we individual citizens who must do our best in this field, but legislators must be the first to pursue the goal. For example, how is it legal to market a product such as the disposable electronic cigarette? If classic cigarettes are a dangerous source of waste, the addition of a lithium battery only makes the situation worse. Fortunately in Europe, Belgium has taken action by blocking the sale of these products from 1 January [3], let us hope that Italy and Europe will also follow as soon as possible.

Waste reduction must take place in all sectors, not only those that generate very tangible waste such as packaging. The case of PerFluoroAlkyl Substances (PFAS), for example, is much debated, especially thanks to regular reports by Greenpeace. The latest report came out just a few days ago (22 January 2025) [4] and highlights how these invisible pollutants, which can be considered industrial waste, are present throughout Italy. If you want to learn more about this topic, you can watch the episode of Presadiretta of 6 October 2024 (in Italian) by clicking here.

The sampling campaign of Greenpeace found these substances in all the regions, you can check out the values personally in the next interactive map (description in italian only):

Even in the mountainous region of Trentino-South Tyrol, where supposedly the water should be cleaner thanks to the direct flow from the mountains,  those substances have been found. The amount is not alarming and remains below the limits, but it is important to take action now to prevent a worsening of the situation in the future. The Province of Trento, in its SproSS (Provincial Strategy to Sustainable Development) [5] plans explicitly to tackle this point with goal number 18: Minimising pollutant loads in soils, water bodies and aquifers, taking into account the good ecological status levels of natural systems. We hope to see important measures to limit the water pollutants being introduced in the coming years.

Finally, it’s clear how complex the waste management topic is and from how many different point of views could be seen and tried to addressed, but it is necessary to keep in mind that we can make the difference by adopting conscious life-styles and also supporting researchers and ONGs that are trying to rise the awareness, which leads to new regulations protecting us and the environment we live in.

This article is part of the project “Quiz Ambientali per un Trentino Più Verde!” carried out by Econtrovertia APS and sponsored by Fondazione Cassa Rurale di Trento (Notice of Approval of December 20, 2024).

Cover image: Junkyard Campfire Moon Homeless by baggeb on Pixabay. Free image available under the Pixabay License.