Coronavirus, the waste emergency will cost 1 billion

The impact of coronavirus on waste in Italy will cost one billion. This is what emerges from an analysis by Althesys (strategic environmental consultancy company led by Alessandro Marangoni) on the effects of Covid-19 for the waste system, which "suffers on one hand significant losses for the management of industrial and urban waste, and on the other, an important stress to be able to cope with the emergency of medical waste, which is growing enormously ". The "fragility of the Italian system - Marangoni explains - appears even more serious".

On the one hand, the stop to production activities, on the other the decrease in consumption, and on all health needs. These are the reasons why "the waste management system is one of the sectors most directly affected by the crisis due to the spread of coronavirus". "The shutdown of most Italian industries - Marangoni observes - leads in the first place to a drastic decrease in the special waste to be treated". "From a first estimate on the sectors envisaged by the Dpcm of 25 March - it is highlighted - calculating the loss of two working months, there would be between 4.2 and 4.8 million tons of special waste less only in the three regions most affected: Lombardy, Veneto and Emilia Romagna. With a rough estimate, this would result in a loss of turnover of around € 1 billion for companies that manage special waste ". For urban waste, on the other hand, quantities will drop: both for households and especially for the tertiary sector, in particular commerce and catering. "The drop in consumption could reduce municipal waste up to 2 and a half million tons - Marangoni notes - unfortunately the virus arrives where prevention and attempts to reduce waste have failed; but this is not a positive figure either, because it will increase the complexity of their management. The blockage or slowdown of some industries will impact on the downstream phases of the supply chain, ie recovery and recycling ". In essence, the outlet for the circular economy industries (which are largely stationary) is missing. Different speech for operators of medical waste, which instead must be burned.