Wet waste collection, Aprilia signs agreement with Biorepack

An agreement has been signed today between Progetto Ambiente SpA, which handles waste collection in the Lazio municipality of Aprilia, and Biorepack, the national consortium for the organic recycling of biodegradable and compostable plastic packaging. Fees of up to approximately 250 Euro per tonne will be paid for the collection, transport and treatment of compostable bioplastics together with wet waste. Antonio Terra, the mayor of Aprilia, said this was: "An agreement that enables further acceleration on the recycling front, thus reducing deliveries to landfill".

5 August 2022  - More resources for waste management, in view of improved differentiated collection of compostable packaging waste together with biodegradable kitchen scraps, which when transformed into compost will contribute to the health of agricultural land and fight climate change. Many advantages derive from the agreement signed between Progetto Ambiente SPA, the municipal enterprise that manages waste collection in the Lazio municipality of Aprilia, and Biorepack, a national consortium in the CONAI system for the organic recycling of compostable bioplastic packaging, which must be disposed of together with wet waste.

"After having brought about a real revolution in the field of waste over the last few years, achieving collection rates of over 70% for differentiated waste, the municipal authority, together with the entire community of Aprilia, is continuing to accelerate on the recycling front with consequent decreases in deliveries to landfill,” commented the mayor of Aprilia, Antonio Terra.

According to the agreement, Progetto Ambiente will be responsible for managing compostable bioplastic packaging wastes together with the wet fraction -  from differentiated collection to organic recycling - composting - in line with the new national legislation that introduced compulsory differentiated collection of urban wet waste together with compostable bioplastics with effect from the 1^st of January this year.

The agreement signed provides for the municipal waste enterprise of Aprilia to promote the differentiated collection of compostable bioplastic together with the wet fraction, guarantee subsequent organic recycling and encourage the reduction of non-compostable extraneous materials. In return for this commitment the BIOREPACK Consortium will offer economic compensation through a reward system based on the quality of the wet fraction collected in a differentiated manner -  the higher the quality of the wet fraction collected, the higher the compensation provided by the BIOREPACK Consortium.

The active role of people will be crucial: they will have to take the utmost care not to deliver waste that is incompatible with wet waste, in particular conventional plastics. In this way the BIOREPACK consortium will be able to pay the municipality the maximum fee for the collection, transport and treatment of compostable bioplastics, that is up to approximately 250 Euro per tonne.

"This sliding fee system is essential to providing an incentive for the highest possible quality in collection of the wet fraction," explained Marco Versari, President of BIOREPACK. "In this respect we must always remember to use biodegradable and compostable bags, such as shopping bags or fruit and vegetable bags, to collect the organic fraction. It is also thanks to these that Italy has become the European country that collects the greatest amount of organic fraction. To further increase these collection percentages, food packaging, beverage pods and tableware can also be disposed of together with wet waste, provided they are made of certified compostable bioplastic on which the appropriate marks are affixed".

The increase in properly treated organic waste diverts materials from disposal in landfills or incinerators and produces compost, a natural fertiliser that, unlike synthetic fertilisers, 'returns' organic matter to the soil. This benefits not only plants and agricultural productivity (which, on the contrary, is dangerously diminishing in the presence of degraded soils), but also the fight against climate change and global warming. Organic matter essentially consists of carbon that is stored in soils, improving fertility, rather than being introduced into the atmosphere in the form of CO₂, one of the main causes of the greenhouse effect. Soils are the second largest store of carbon on the planet after the oceans. More carbon in the soil therefore means less CO₂ in the atmosphere.