Environment. The first results of the “Environmental Counter”
Promoted by the Municipality, AMAT, Conai, A2a Ambiente and AMSA to measure the advantages of separate waste collection: in 2018 you will save 350 thousand tons of CO2, three million cubic meters of water and two thousand megawatts of electricity
Milan, May 20 2019 – With the 2018 separate waste collection, a saving of around 350 thousand tonnes of CO was measured for the first time2, three million cubic meters of water, almost two thousand megawatts of electricity. The same quantity allows an equivalent recovery of re-products: 14 million sweatshirts, 114 million new bottles, three million wrenches, 419 million shoe boxes, 224 thousand benches, 123 thousand wardrobes and 209 thousand moka coffee makers.
The results of separate waste collection have become measurable thanks to the environmental counter introduced in Milan by the Municipality, AMAT, A2a Ambiente, AMSA, developed by Conai in collaboration with eAmbiente and presented today at the conference "The value of the circular economy in Milan" organized at the University of Milan-Bicocca by Cesisp (Centre for economics and regulation of services, industry and the public sector).
Il Environmental counter it is a tool which, thanks to a methodology developed during Expo Milano 2015, manages to quantify the environmental benefits of separate waste collection and all waste recycling and recovery activities. The new measurement model is based on the scientific method of Life cycle assessment for the evaluation of environmental impacts through the identification of energy consumption and materials, vehicles and equipment used, and consequently the emissions released into the atmosphere.
In the case of the Environmental Counter for separate waste collection in Milan, currently at around 60%, the analysis is related to the life of the material from the moment it becomes waste, up to preparation for transformation into a new product, raw material to be reused, or into new energy. Once the data on the quantity of waste collected and divided into the various fractions has been collected, all the steps on the activities needed to regenerate it and make it reusable in new products are examined. For example, data relating to the means of transport and movement within the plants, the relative fuel consumption, the production of further waste, discharges into water and emissions into air due to treatment processes are used.
The results are processed through a set of indicators, capable of returning data and figures that synthetically express the advantages of separate waste collection compared to a scenario in which waste is sent exclusively to landfill:
- CO2 emissions saved;
- lower water consumption;
- electricity not consumed;
- re-products packaged with recycled material;
- virgin raw materials saved to produce new objects.
The numbers, which immediately communicate to citizens the level of efficiency of the integrated urban waste management system, will be disseminated and periodically updated through the information channels of the Municipality of Milan.
“With Milan we have always shared a focus on sustainability issues and collaborated to spread the culture of recycling and the circular economy. – adds Giorgio Quagliuolo, President of Conai – Thanks to the Environmental Counter, we are now able to quantify the environmental and economic benefits generated by the correct management of urban waste and to tell citizens that, also thanks to their contribution, an efficient separate collection and recycling of materials service has allowed, in one year, to save 145.000 tons of virgin raw material, with notable environmental benefits".
"In Milan the percentage of separate waste collection has reached 62%, a result that places the City at the top among European metropolises. - commented Fulvio Roncari, President of A2a Ambiente - The model carried out by AMSA and the A2a Group is based on the integrated management of the entire waste cycle, from collection to treatment, from material recovery to energy production. Thanks to the study of new collection methods and investments in technologies, one hundred percent of Milanese urban waste is sent for recycling or for recovery, no primary waste is sent to landfill. The environmental counter is an excellent tool for communicating to citizens the importance and benefits of separate waste collection, a small daily gesture with a great impact on our community".
During the conference at the University of Milan-Bicocca, Cesisp researchers also presented the first ranking in Italy of the best performing cities in terms of sustainability and the circular economy, i.e. that economy based on the reuse of resources and reduction of waste, in the name of eco-sustainability. The researchers based themselves on a series of twenty indicators to determine a ranking between Italian cities with more than 300 thousand inhabitants and Milan came in first place, followed by Florence and Turin, emerging in particular in reuse and recycling policies, in the efficient use of resources and in the offer of public transport and car sharing.
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Updated: 20/05/2019