Reggio Emilia Municipality
Reggio Emilia is a medium sized city (about 170.000 inhabitants) in northern Italy, in Emilia Romagna region. The Municipality of Reggio Emilia, to manage its municipal waste, has created its own model in order to increase the recycling of materials, to reduce the use of disposal and to reduce the amount of waste produced.
The “Reggio model” comes from past experiences and needs of citizens while respecting the urban and architectural characteristics of the city. From 2004 to 2010, the percentage of recycling has increased from 43.4% to 56.4%, with a target of 65% at provincial level by 2012 and 67% by 2015.
The Municipality of Reggio Emilia has activated at the same time other projects, including:
– Green Public Procurement, co-funded by the Ministry of Environment in 2004, to introduce when purchasing goods and services, criteria aiming at reducing environmental impacts;
– REMIDA creative recycling center, where the waste, in addition to being disposed, may also be processed; the project was born in Reggio Emilia in 1996 and is now exported in various Italian and international cities, to promote the idea that production wastes can be resources;
– “Reggio Raccogli Ecologico”, the new waste collection system planned for the sites designated for recreational activities, sports and meeting, the project involves 24 community centers, 9 sports centers and major shopping centers;
– “La Spesa Verde”, eco-label awarded to stores that implement best practices for sustainability at the local level; the main stores of Conad, Coop Consumatori Nordest and Realco participate in the project;
– coordination of the national working group “Rifiuti 21 Network”, with the objective of studying the best practices for reducing waste upstream, creating a network for knowledge and experiences exchanging, developing additional new sustainable management practices in the field of collection and waste separation;
– joining the “European Week for Waste Reduction”, organized annually, by activating together with local multi-utility IREN new services (eg water in jug, composting in schools, houses of water, …).
Finally, the Municipality of Reggio Emilia has participated as beneficiary coordinator to the LIFE 07 project “LAKS – Local Accountability for Kyoto Goals” (www.municipio.re.it/laks) and is participating as associated beneficiary in the LIFE 09 project “RELS – Innovative chain for energy recovery from waste in the national parks” (www.life-rels.eu).
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Trento Municipality
The Municipality of Trento, the capital of Trentino-Alto Adige Autonomous Region, counts 116,875 inhabitants (31.12.2011).
Its territory is divided into 12 territorial districts, decentralization bodies that promote the direct participation of citizens.
The Environmental Service of the Municipality of Trento has been involved for years in improving waste recycling, waste reduction and in raising awareness of citizens on this topic.
The project aiming at extending to the entire city the innovative collection system “door to door” started in 2007.
Currently the whole city, except the old town centre area with traffic limitations, is covered by this new collection system.
The main objective of the Administration was to empower citizens and consumers in managing their waste to increase recycling, both qualitatively and quantitatively.
The dumpsters were then removed from the public areas, where waste were often abandoned becoming urban decay areas, to opt for containers for single family or single user.
By 2012 even the old town centre, which has special urban characteristics and therefore has required a specific planning, will be served by “door to door” system.
In areas of the city already involved in the project, waste separated collection has reached 70%, one of the best data in Italy with regard to provincial capitals.
The commitment of the Administration in waste reduction is also remarkable and there are various initiatives:
– signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with mass retailers to reduce waste in the dealers;
– creating groups of “eco-volunteers” citizens for a continuous permanent awareness campaign in the area;
– encouraging the adoption of home composting,
– organizing “party of reuse” to encourage citizens to trade usable goods;
– organizing virtuous initiatives within the Administration such as green procurement, projects to reduce paper use and encouragement of web bureaucracy;
– organizing waste separate collection in all city schools;
– organizing awareness campaigns on the issue of waste addressed to students and teachers;
– organizing information meetings for citizens about the collection system and the different types of waste.
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Ambiente Italia srl
Ambiente Italia srl is a research and consulting society operating in the fields of environmental analysis, planning and design.
Its offices are in Milano, Pisa, Treviso and Roma, its team has multidisciplinary competences and its partnerships with European organisations are consolidated.
In the 20 years since its foundation, Ambiente Italia has completed more than 1,100 projects for more than 600 clients (in Italy, more than 170 Municipalities, 40 Provinces, 13 regions and more than 40 enterprises).
Ambiente Italia provides consulting and technical supports to private sector (Environmental Impact Assessment, Environmental management for enterprises/products and Feasibility Studies) and to Local Administrations (Planning and Start up of Actions) in different sectors (Territory, Energy, Waste, Water, Green, natural and tourist Areas).
It also has extensive experience in planning and managing European projects: this is shown in more than 80 projects for which Ambiente Italia were funded (EG LIFE, FP, IEE, INTERREG etc.) and to develop innovative measures in partnership with public and private organizations.
In the field of waste management, Ambiente Italia, as technical consultant for Local Authorities and other public and private entities, has realised more than 60 Waste Management Plans and projects for waste prevention.
Among these the Prevention Plan for Firenze Province, the support given to the Livorno Province for the development of a Communication Campaign on sustainable consumption and waste prevention (www.oprlivorno.it/menorifiuti) the implementation, as partners, of the LIFE + WASTELESS IN CHIANTI (www.wasteless-in-chianti.it) and INTERREG RES MAR (www.res-mar.eu/it/progetti/presentazione.php?progetto=d) projects, focused on waste prevention.
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Coop Consumatori Nordest scrl
Coop Consumatori Nordest is one of the 9 consumers’ cooperatives composing the National COOP system, group leader of the modern Italian large-scale distribution.
Coop Consumatori Nordest was founded in 1995 from the unification of Coop Nordemilia and Coop Consumatori Friuli; it has 83 point of sale in Emilia areas, Lombardia Region, Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia regions (corresponding to the North East area of Italy).
The net assets amount at 782 millions € and has doubled during the last 10 years; the subscriber members are 572.819.
The cooperative has always played the role of purchasing power’s defender, by keeping at a high level the food security, health protection, environment protection, information and consumers training.
COOP’s commitment to the environment is concretized by Coop’s products certified by the European environment quality earmark Ecolabel, such as detergents, products in 100% recycled paper and the disposable glasses and dishes’ line produced in PLA (polylactide), an innovative and completely natural material deriving from corn starch.
Since 1996 Coop has decided to limit the quantity of packaging in its products; furthermore, with the aim of stimulating the reuse of the same package, COOP has promoted the use, among its consumers, of the refill for personal hygiene products and of distributors for Coop detergents sold in bulk.
These measures allow for a relevant reduction of packaging costs for consumers’ advantage and for a waste reduction for the benefit of all the citizenship.
“Intelligent labels” have been introduced on Coop products to explain to consumers the correct disposal of different packages.
Furthermore, in all Coop’s point of sale, before the time fixed by Italian laws, reusable and biodegradable shopping bags have replaced the traditional plastic shoppers: the use, for one year, of one reusable shopping bag contributes to the reduction of waste by 2,5 kg.
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Reggio nel Mondo srl
Reggio nel Mondo srl is the Agency for the promotion of Reggio Emilia, established in 2000 by the municipality of Reggio Emila in collaboration with the local Chamber of Commerce.
The Agency has developed top level expertise in the management of institutional international links.
On behalf of the Municipality of Reggio Emilia, Reggio nel Mondo has managed for a period of over 12 years, local international relations, the historical and cultural heritage of international links of the local community, ranging from twinning and friendship agreements at European level (such as Schwerin – DE, Dijon – FR, Girona – ES, Bydgoszcz – PL) and international level (Pemba – Mozambique, Polokwane – South Africa, Rep. of Moldova, Kragujevac – Serbia, Palestine and Ucraina) to international networks and international study visits, exchanges and events.
Since 2007 Reggio nel Mondo has developed great experience in the planning and management of European projects funded both by structural funds (INTERREG IVC, URBACT) and by direct funds (LIFE+, EuropeAid, Europe for Citizens, LLP and Culture Programme).
Reggio nel Mondo agency is owned, since September 2011, by Reggio Children limited liability company, city’s flagship and affirmed reality acknowledged worldwide in the field of management of international contacts in the educational sector affirming children’s rights promotion.
The new propriety’s strategy is to include existing expertise of international relations’ and EU management competences to expand the range of actions it develops.
The development of the strategy will eventually lead to the merger between Reggio nel Mondo srl and Reggio Children srl.