Separate waste collection is growing in the municipalities of the South, but the North remains more virtuous overall, while the Center does little.
The pandemic has hindered proper disposal, forcing all the material of the infected to be thrown into the unsorted waste.
So much so that the Italian municipalities "Waste free", where the garbage not sent for recycling is less than 75 kilos each, in 2021 were 590, 33 less than in 2020. This was revealed by the 29th edition of "Comuni Ricicloni" , the historic Legambiente dossier that rewards the best results in waste management.
The pandemic last year did not stop the constant growth of Southern Italy, which has 167 Free Waste Municipalities (+5 compared to last year), thanks also to the data offered this year to the ranking by Arpa Campania.
However, the record remains in Northern Italy (391 municipalities), even if it marks a decrease compared to the number of last year (-32 municipalities).
The Center remains marginal: 32 municipalities (-6 compared to last year).
Four are the most deserving provincial capitals: Trento, Pordenone, Treviso and Belluno.
Carpi, Castelfranco Emilia (Modena), Misilmeri (Palermo), Bra (Cuneo) and the Venetian municipalities of Montebelluna, Castelfranco Veneto, Conegliano (Treviso), Mira and San Donà di Piave (Venice).
In the list of Legambiente 2022 Free Waste Municipalities, 66.3% is represented by centers in Northern Italy (down from 67.9% in 2021 and 73.1% in 2020).
The figure for Central Italy also decreases, 5.4% in 2022, against 6.1% in 2021 and 6.5% in 2020: a figure that demonstrates the increasingly residual presence of the Center, basically represented by Tuscany with municipalities of medium size, and some municipalities in the Marche and Lazio regions.
On the other hand, an increase for the municipalities of the South: 28.3% in 2022 (in 2021 they made up 26% and in 2020 20.4%).
Compared to the Regions, by percentage of Free Waste Municipalities, Veneto (26.8%) is at the top of the ranking, followed by Trentino-Alto Adige (20.9%), Friuli-Venezia Giulia (18.1%) and Campania ( 14.7%).
Laggards instead for Liguria, with 0.4%.