Fondazione IDIS - Le 4 R per smaltimento dei rifiuti

Best practices for citizens

Best practices for citizens

Separate

Waste not throw!

Consumption conscious

Keep Naples clean!

Separate collection is the best way to preserve and maintain the natural resources, for the benefit of our future generations: reuse waste, from paper to plastic, helping to restore and preserve an "naturally" richer environment.
In fact, all our actions produce pollution, even the most common one, such as read a newspaper or drink an orange juice, that don't seem to be dangerous, but if we consider that every day in the world are printed millions of pages, built millions of plastic bottles or aluminium cans, assembled million objects and furniture for our homes the things change.
Translated in other words, millions of trees killed, millions of litres of oil consumed, millions of kilograms of CO2 released into the atmosphere: with the separated waste collection, however, all these resources are saved.

Some examples

Each of us produces about 30 kg of plastic every year: if this were completely recycled plastic, in a town of 100,000 inhabitants would save 10,000 tons of petroleum and coal
To produce 1 kg of aluminium, it's necessary 15 kwh of electricity; to produce a kilogram of recycled aluminium it's necessary 0.8 kwh: in Italy every year are consumed 1 billion and 500 thousand cans
To produce a ton of virgin paper takes 15 trees, 440,000 litres of water and 7,600 kwh of electricity: to produce one ton of recycled paper instead just 1,800 litres of water and 2,700 kwh of electricity
If not separately collected, medicines at the landfill can produce toxic emanations and pollute leachate, the presence of antibiotics in the waste can encourage the selection of bacterial strains resistant to the them...
Recycling the glass allows an annual savings in Italy of 400,000 tonnes of oil
Tyres, once completed their cycle can be re-cycled for the most diverse uses: this operation is important, because in Italy they are discarded each year 500,000 tons, with a volume of over 3 million cubic meters, the equivalent of more than 6 San Siro stadium filled up top
From 100 kilos of used oil we can obtain 68 kilos of new one: imagine that just 1 kilo of oil dispersed in the environment pollutes 1,000 cubic metres of water.

Now, make your plans!

The savings of separate collection

Separate plastic
With the recycling of 1,000 tons of plastic (which is the quantity produced from a small town) we can save approximately 3,500 tonnes of oil, that is the energy used by 20,000 refrigerators during a year.

Separate paper
It takes 15 trees, 440,000 litres of water and 7,600 kwh of electricity to produce a ton of virgin paper. Just 1,800 litres of water and 2,700 kwh of electricity to produce one ton of recycled paper.

Separate glass
In the production of "new" glass, for every 10% of scrap of glass melt into ovens there is a savings of 2.55% of energy, equivalent to more than 130 litres of oil saved for every ton of recycled glass used.
It is estimated that the glass industry registers an annual energy savings amounting to 400,000 tonnes of oil thanks to the separate collection.

Separate the green junk
Scraps from the green areas such as from our gardens (leaves, grass, flowers residues, pruning) constitute a large part of the waste products and are essential to the industrial composting process.
With 10 tonnes is possible to fertilize a hectare of land.

Separate aluminium
To produce 1 kg of aluminium, it takes about 15 kwh of electricity and a system fitting for the extraction of bauxite.
To produce 1 kg of aluminum from recycled material, we need instead 0.8 kwh of energy and, above all, no system fitting for the extraction of bauxite, absent in our country.

Separate your old fridge
Refrigerators and freezers are made mainly from steel and plastic but also contain substances called chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), responsible for the damage to ozone air pollution.
It is estimated that every fridge contains on average 250 grams of various CFC (freon, polyurethane), as well highly damaging mineral oil content of the coolant in the engine.

Separate mineral oil
The mineral oil used (lubricating oils used in handicrafts, in vehicles industries industry, etc..) Is almost all recoverable.
From 100 kilograms of used oil are obtained 68 kilograms of new oil.

Separate tyres
In Italy has been calculated that 65% of tyres ends up in landfills.
The rubber is a fuel and, when not controlled combustion takes place at the landfill some very dense smoke pollutants release, mainly because of tyres.
The reutilization of used tyres is possible, for example, with the shredding:
Temperature of 100° below zero achieved by using liquid nitrogen, the shredding machine becomes simple and the subsequent automatic separation of the various components ensures an almost total recycling of materials, which are used as insulating material for roads and highways, race tracks and sports fields, etc..

Regarding the problems related to waste disposal, a substantial revolution has been made by Legislative Decree No. 22 1997 which led to a significant increase in the separate collection. According to a philosophy focused on waste management and which means limiting the amount to be disposed of, encouraging, however, the recovery.
The new waste management also represent an effective tool to fight against the problem of illegal disposal and the infiltration of organized crime.

A separate collection without secrets

Below are listed some information about recycling and disposal of waste, pointing out the ecological and economic and also the prevention of the illegal phenomena related to the phenomenon. The weight of urban solid waste is, in fact, progressively increased, producing the need to think about effective reclamation solutions, for example by reducing the use of non returnable packaging whose dimensions often exceeds that of the goods contained.

Separate collection is an easily solution to support the recycling of waste and for years it has been realized by a number big companies, schools, organizations and families. It covers the following materials: paper, glass, plastic, aluminium and low batteries.

The recovered paper is sent to the paper industries that, through specific procedures, turn it on "new" paper without using the pulp (and thus without the use of the cutting of trees).
However, in order to obtain a recycled paper quality acceptable, it is necessary to submit to specific treatments, that are highly polluting, to dissolve the ink, remove the coating, etc.., Unless further separate the paper collection in order to keep separate different types of paper (magazines, newspapers, etc..).

The returnable bottle is a form of packaging that, unlike the aluminium or paper containers can be reused up to 50 times. In addition to the green containers in our streets, present in over 5000 towns, the glass is recovered with the collection set up at public places (mostly supermarkets), or at municipalities.

the using of the plastic material exclusively for packaging is inappropriate and anti-economic. Many environmental groups and local government, every year, organize awareness campaigns to increase the amount of recycled plastics.
Since 1985 even Recycling aluminium is a positive reality. Recycling a can, in fact, can save energy and reduce the air pollution caused by its working.

Low batteries can be thrown away in their appropriate containers now present in many municipalities.
Leaving leaded fuels accumulators (batteries in our cars) on roads or soil can cause serious environmental damage and can damage the underlying aquifers. In many cities some special areas called "drop-off" have been set up where every citizen can freely leave low battery. The citizen can deliver the flat battery, when he buys a new one, which is required to withdraw without any additional costs (the cost of disposal is, in fact, included in the purchase price of that new), or go to COBAT information consulting website www.cobat.it (Consortium of flat Batteries and hazardous waste), which is the responsible bureau for the collection, transportation and disposal through recycling).

The plastic bags that we use for the shopping constitute a serious threat to the environment; hundreds of dolphins and big fish have dead for have swallowed one. If dispersed in the environment may last from 100 to 1000 years before being destroyed by bacteria and micro-organisms. For these reasons itâ??s better preferring paper bags that are, instead, biodegradable. If this is not possible, it would be useful to try to use the same plastic container more times before throwing it away.

The times of biodegradability are very important as they refer to the objects of common use that often are leaved in our environment. See the schedule on the other side.

Tissues: 3 months
Remains of fruit and vegetables: 3 months
Newspapers: 3-12 months
Cigarette Filters: 1-2 years
Aluminium cans: 10-100 years
Lighters plastic: 100 years
Plastic plats or glass: 100-1000 years
Plastic bags: 100-1000 years
Polystyrene: 1000 years
Glass: more than 1000 years

Some advice
The economic and environmental advantages of separate waste collection are so important that we must urgently change behaviour:

Try to separate glass, paper and plastic from household waste and use the appropriate containers for separate collection;
Delivered clothing and shoes, such as old newspapers, that you want throw away to voluntary associations that go door to door and pick it up;
Choose biodegradable containers and packaging;
Try to use more times the same plastic bags;
In the office use the back of prints drafts or wrong ones before you throw away the sheets;
Delivered expired drugs to pharmacies or put them into the apposite containers;
Don't leave bulky waste in prohibited areas, but contact your municipality office (Environment Department), which will provide you with useful information about the most appropriate arrangements for disposal. For household appliances is being studied an agreement which provides, throughout the national territory, the possibility to give back old appliances when buying new one. it is already possible in many shopping centre, especially the most important.
â?¢ If you buy mineral oils (for example oil to the engine of your car)you can give back the exhausted one to the dealer.

The waste disposal is only the final outcome of a process of collection and recycling of waste that winds through different stages. Thus, for example, if you gather together all the waste plant, the organic matter can be treated with the most appropriate bacteria and be transformed into reusable substances, for example, as fertilizer for the fields.

Report of illegal dumps
The problem of landfills is very current, as it is the final destination of the separate waste collection treatment. They should be used thrifty, leaving there only what is not recoverable. Drained waste, producing biogas as a result of their anaerobic degradation of the substances they are made of, increase the greenhouse effect.
The Legislative Decree No. 22 of 1997 punishes those who creates an abusive landfill, and who abandons any waste on public or private land.
An abusive landfill is an unauthorized place where considerable quantities of waste are systematically disposed of, while leaving waste is punishable also when referring to single episodes related to small quantities of waste that are discharged or disposed along city streets or in the soil (for example: piles of rubble, appliances, etc..).

For any reporting on environmental crimes, citizens may use the following free number Carabineers Department for the Protection of the Environment:
800 -253608

Tthe reporting will be followed by the prompt intervention of specialised staff to take the most appropriate measure.