Institutional portal - Municipality of Milan

From 2023 fuel stations will have to equip themselves with an electric charging system and from 2021 Milan will ban outdoor smoking

Milan, November 19 2020 – The City Council today approved the "Air Quality Regulation" which defines priorities and deadlines for a series of actions aimed at improving environmental quality in the city.

Among the main innovations is the obligation for all fuel sales points to equip themselves with electric charging infrastructure. Existing distributors must present the project by 1 January 2022 and the installation of the columns must take place within 12 months following its presentation. In case of technical impossibility, the column must be built in a public area other than the fuel distribution plant grounds by 1 January 2023.

From 19 January 2021, Milan will ban cigarette smoking outdoors except in isolated places: from public transport stops to parks, up to cemeteries and sports facilities, such as stadiums, smoking will be prohibited within 10 meters of other people . From 1 January 2025 the smoking ban will be extended to all outdoor public areas. These are measures that have a dual objective: they help reduce PM10, i.e. the polluting particles harmful to the lungs, and protect the health of citizens from active and passive smoking in public places and also frequented by minors.

Among the actions that have been defined, the ban on installing new diesel and biomass systems for heating buildings comes into force within 30 days of the approval of the regulation and, starting from 1 October 2022, the use of diesel oil in systems will also be prohibited. existing heating systems. In case of technical impossibility to renew the system it will be necessary to present a technical report demonstrating the impediment. This decision takes into account the important incentives made available to property owners by the Government and the municipal administration for the renewal of the systems.

The use of wood to fuel the ovens of pizzerias is regulated and from 1 October 2022 it must be of "Class A1": to verify the environmental quality of the wood-fired ovens present in Milanese pizzerias, a census will also be launched which will carried out by March 1, 2021.

As regards commercial establishments, it will be mandatory to keep the doors closed by 1 January 2022. An exemption is foreseen for shops that use so-called "air blades" which are not electrically heated, with a width greater than that of the door, with ground flow lower than 2m/s or which will adapt the existing air curtains by 1 June 2022.

A ban on the use of power generators with internal combustion engines has also been defined for commercial activities in public areas that do not require systems for the preservation, refrigeration or cooking of food starting from 1 January 2022. It will also be prohibited use power generators with internal combustion engines powered by diesel or mixture (oil and petrol) with a two-stroke engine for the sale or supply of food in public areas that require systems for conservation, refrigeration or cooking of food starting from 1 October 2022, with a derogation from 1 October 2028 for car shops with integrated generator.

For commercial activities in public areas outside the market with fixed parking, the use of power generators to replace the connection to the electricity grid is prohibited starting from 1 January 2022.

New rules also for construction site activities, in particular for the containment of dust that is raised by construction vehicles. Within 30 days of the entry into force of the regulation it becomes mandatory to carry out cleaning at certain intervals; proceed to wash the wheels of vehicles leaving the construction site; proceed to keep the construction sites wet; maintain a particularly moderate transit speed of vehicles along the dirt paths located within the construction site area; use, for the movement of earth, aggregates and powdery material, vehicles equipped with closed or tarpaulin boxes, or in any case equipped with devices to contain the dispersion of dust; carry out the storage in silos of cement, lime and other construction materials in a solid powdery state and carry out their movement, where technically possible, using closed systems; shield systems that generate dust emissions (for example concrete mixing plants).

Other obligations concern the ban on the use of obsolete non-road mobile machinery and progressive bans on older engines in analogy with the ZTL Area B (from 1 October 2022, Phase I, from 1 October 2023, Phase II, from 1 October 2028 , Phase IIIA, from 1 October 2030, Phase IIIB, from 1 October 2039, Phase IV). Exceptions are foreseen until 2030 in case of installation of anti-particulate devices and until 2039 in case of additional installation of DeNO devices_x.

Finally, starting from the current year, in the period between 1 October and 31 March, fireworks and barbecues are prohibited.