The economy of the future? It is undoubtedly the circular economy that brings with it new environmental, economic and social opportunities. The Treno Verde 2017 will explain and tell about it, with a very special edition dedicated to this new model of sustainable and innovative economic development that is gaining ground in Italy and is now at the center of the European debate. From February 22nd to March 31st, the environmentalist convoy of Legambiente and Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, with the participation of the Ministry of the Environment and Protection of the Territory and the Sea, will travel through Italy, to tell through 11 stages, from Catania to Milan, this new economy, to promote sustainability that starts from the bottom, disseminate scientific information and to give a voice to the many protagonists (companies, start-ups, institutions, associations and territories), renamed the hundred Champions of the circular economy who travel already this way.
An economy, which unlike the linear one, gives rise to a process of self-generation in which all activities are organized so that someone's waste becomes someone else's resource. This is why the motto of this year's Treno Verde 2017 will be "Every end is a new beginning". An economy that is good for the country, as demonstrated by the data released by the European Commission in this regard: in fact, we are talking about an estimated 580 jobs in Europe by 2030 with the achievement of the objectives of the circular economy package. An annual saving of 72 billion euros for European companies thanks to a more efficient use of resources and therefore to a reduction in imports of raw materials. At least 190 new jobs can be created in Italy.
This is why Legambiente is asking the European institutions for a very ambitious framework of rules, with clear and precise rules, for a decisive issue for the future of Europe and Italy. A request contained in the Circular Economy Manifesto which can be signed on board the Green Train, on the first carriage. The objective of the environmentalist convoy will also be to bring to Brussels, where the discussion for the approval of the European package on the circular economy is underway, the most representative experiences presented on board the Green Train, to make known the many excellences that have bet on this new model of economic development. The appointment will be on April 24 with a special stop in Brussels together with the 100 Champions of the circular economy and the Vice-President of the EU Commission, Jyrki Katainen.
The Green Train Campaign 2017 was presented this morning in Rome in the conference room of the Roma Termini station by Rossella Muroni, president of Legambiente, together with Gioia Ghezzi, president of Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, and Gian Luca Galletti, minister of the Environment and Protection of the Territory and the Sea.
Now in its 29th edition, this year the Treno Verde will stop at the stations of Catania Centrale (February 24-25-26), and then continue its journey to Paola (February 28-March 1), Potenza Centrale (March 3-4 ), Bari Centrale (6-7 March), Salerno (9-10-11 March), Pescara Centrale (13-14 March), Foligno (16-17-18 March), Bologna Centrale (20-21 March), Vicenza ( March 23-24), Asti (March 26-27-28) and Milan Porta Garibaldi (March 30-31). In its 11 stops, therefore, we will talk about circular economy, the central theme of the traveling exhibition that can be visited on board the train, giving space to the many champions of the sector who recover or use secondary raw materials that until recently ended up in landfills.
For example, there are those who recover about 250 tonnes of end-of-life tires by transforming them into recycled rubber to be used for sports surfaces or acoustic insulation, as Ecopneus does. Those who recycle disposable diapers giving new life to high quality secondary raw materials like Fater Spa does, which, moreover, has built the first plant in Italy for the recycling of diapers in Spresiano (TV). Who has demonstrated that it is possible to integrate chemistry, the environment and agriculture. An example? Mater-Bi, Novamont's flagship product, the innovative bioplastic with which biodegradable and compostable products are made. Space then for those who recycle steel packaging: jars, tins, cans, coming from differentiated collection, thanks to Ricrea, pass on to a new life becoming useful material for nails, bolts and even for train parts. Those who are committed to promoting and guaranteeing the recycling of packaging materials from separate waste collection, giving new life to waste, as Conai does.
“In Europe – declares Rossella Muroni, national president of Legambiente – the package on the circular economy is in an advanced stage of definition. Italy today has all the credentials to lead the European circular economy, thanks to the many virtuous experiences taking place in the country and which we will talk about during the journey of the Green Train. We have common recyclers, public consortia and virtuous companies that constitute exceptional green economy experiences. But to affirm the circular economy more and more, in addition to the contribution of citizens and effective communication, it is important that politics also play its part by introducing, for example, tariff policies that reward citizens and virtuous companies, replicating good practices on the whole territory and defining a new system of incentives and disincentives to ensure that prevention and recycling are always more convenient than landfills and incinerators".
“The FS Italiane Group has always been committed to improving its environmental and non-environmental performance. The aim is to help reduce the ecological footprint of industrial, production and service activities, identifying the best and most innovative solutions to make industrial processes increasingly efficient and effective”, underlines Gioia Ghezzi, president of FS Italiane. "With the 2017-2026 Business Plan, hinged on five pillars (integrated infrastructures, integrated mobility, digitalisation, integrated logistics and international expansion), we have the objective - continues the president of FS Italiane - to create synergies between players, technologies and infrastructures to encourage the shift towards more efficient and less polluting methods of travel for passengers and goods. Furthermore, the FS Italiane Group, over the next decade, intends to promote itself as a promoter of a new mobility system, which favors the integration of all modes of transport, collective and individual, at all levels, international and regional, in a perspective of social, economic and environmental sustainability: this is the vision to which all the activities of our business are contributing”.
Like every year, during its journey the Green Train will follow a program to monitor the noise and atmospheric pollution of the cities where it will stop. In addition to this scientific monitoring, this year's novelty will be that of indoor pollution with the analysis of some pollutants that determine the good or bad quality of the air in a closed environment, such as at school, at home, at work. This will be possible thanks to the collaboration with VALORIZZA brand of Studio SMA and Gemmlab, Orion, and with the scientific contribution of Sapienza, CNR and the IUAV University of Venice.
In fact, among the objectives of Treno Verde there is also that of making citizens aware of the problem of pollution in the city, a real scourge. As regards the pm10, one and a half months into the year, three Italian cities, Cremona (40 days), Frosinone (39), Turin (38), have already exceeded the 35 days of deviation from the daily limit, permitted by law. On the other hand, there are eleven cities over 30 days: they are Vicenza (34), Padua (33), Reggio Emilia (33), Milan (33), Pavia (32), Asti (31), Venice (31), Modena (31), Treviso (30), Brescia (30).
The georeferenced results of the scientific monitoring will be available on the new Treno Verde portal, Trenoverde.it, where you will also find all the info on the traveling campaign, the various stops, the on-board train exhibition, and the map with Champions of the Circular Economy .
Citizens and students, as always, will be able to board the Green Train to visit the didactic and interactive exhibition set up inside the four carriages which will have the circular economy as a leitmotif. In the first carriage called "The straight line" (it's finished) the impacts of the linear economy and the advantages of the circular economy are analysed. There will also be a specific focus on the circular economy package and on the Italian one and, on board the first carriage, anyone who wants will be able to sign the Legambiente Circular Economy Manifesto. The second carriage "Those who close the circle" will be dedicated to the "Champions of the circular economy", divided by thematic area: waste (recycling, recovery, management), industry, energy, construction, design, laboratory space, agriculture, food waste , public administrations, start-ups and research.
The third carriage "The perfect circle of recycling" will be entirely dedicated to Ecopneus, at the forefront of the recovery and recycling of end-of-life tyres. It is one of the best practices at national and European level and will be told through installations, monitors and an interactive exhibition itinerary.
Finally, the fourth carriage "Circular citizenship: shelter and share" will offer a sort of vademecum for the citizen, indicating what can be done to consume less and better. Space then for the best bottom-up reuse experiences, for small object repair workshops, for experiences of sharing products and services and for the advantages they give in environmental, economic and social terms. As always, the fourth carriage will host the various conferences, workshops, aperitifs and afternoon activities from stage to stage. The Green Train and the exhibition will be open from 8,30 to 14.00 for schools booked from 16,00 to 19,00 for the public. On Sunday it will be open to visitors from 10,00 to 13,00. Admission is free.
In conjunction with Treno Verde 2017, Legambiente and Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane are promoting a Call for ideas entitled "We move for the environment", reserved for young people aged 18 to 30. The aim is to gather ideas, cues and projects to improve differentiated waste collection also in stations and on board trains, through user awareness and concrete proposals to optimize this service in the railway sector. Trenitalia will offer the winner of the contest a year of travel in the region of residence and Trenord in Lombardy. To participate in the contest, all you need to do is submit a print or digital document on board the Green Train of Legambiente and FS Italiane, during the various stops on the calendar.
