For some time, the term "circular economy" it has left the realm of experts and entered the world of traditional and social media. Many talk about it, many fewer, on the other hand, are clear:
- that it is important to get into the concreteness of measurement and numerical data to bring into reality the actions to be taken to become "circular"
- that in order to achieve "circularity" it is first of all necessary to make choices and take strategic decisions which presuppose substantial investments in the medium-long term
- that in terms of development of the country, the question of waste has a considerable weight. So let's start with waste, and with a figure that concerns it: 32 billion euros.
This is the monetary value of the production of activities related to waste disposal services in Italy (also considering wastewater management). To understand the extent of this value - already high in absolute terms - it is sufficient to say that it is identical to that relating to the management of energy resources, which is dealt with and discussed much more at all levels, of policy makers and public opinion. A dimension that tells of an increasingly strategic sector for the national economy and from which we must start when planning the economic future of our country.
In fact, the costs for waste management activities are really starting to weigh on the competitiveness of companies and on their ability to create development. Despite the difficulty of having homogeneous data - another indicator that denotes how much the "waste" issue is underestimated - what we have found is nonetheless significant. By comparing multiple sources, we can estimate that in the last two years there has been a average 40% increase in disposal costs. The fact that it is "average" means that in some cases, as happened for certain types of hazardous waste, the increase was even higher. These burdens, however, do not weigh on the Italian production system in a homogeneous way, but affect one sector in particular, that of the manufacturing industry.
Translated into euros, it means costs increased by almost 1,3 billion, with a significant impact on the sector's accounts of +0,5% on added value. Among the industrial districts most affected by the increases are those that produce large quantities of waste during the processing stages or whose waste requires specific treatments: from tanning, textiles, paper, to agri-food purification sludge. But what is the main reason behind these price increases?
In the last year, companies have repeatedly complained of growing difficulties in waste management, with an increase in collection times by operators and a significant increase in costs. This has happened, for example, in regions with a high rate of manufacturing firms such as Veneto, Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany, found coping with a “paralysis” risk in waste management. The main reason for this situation, sometimes with critical contours, is due to the absence or lack of plants suitable in terms of size, number and waste disposal or transformation technology.
In short, too few plants, too saturated and, sometimes, unsuitable for the needs of the production activities. In addition, elements such as: bureaucratic hitches and administrative delays, legislation not always clear if not an obstacle, insufficient economic resources, fragmentation and weakness of local governance which has not been able to take decisions on the matter and the general opposition of the populations to the construction of specialized centres.
However, this problem - certainly not new - has been accentuated or accelerated by the economic situation that has arisen in recent years. The interweaving of causes sees:
- a sharp increase in the production of special waste in the three-year period 2014-2017, the result of an economic recovery in manufacturing (after a long stagnation and moments of crisis)
- the closure of the Chinese market to imports of waste, in particular recyclable plastic, textile residues and inferior quality paper (2018 measure); this stop was followed by that of other Asian markets
- the sentence of the Council of State of 28 February 2018 which blocked the "case by case" authorizations issued by the Regions for recovery processes (End of Waste -EoW)
- the stop to the spreading of sewage sludge in agriculture, following a ruling by the Lombardy Regional Administrative Court in 2018
- the increase in differentiated waste collection, particularly in the South, which has generated an increase in waste destined for disposal
- the opposition of the Regions to the free movement of urban waste as it is intended for energy recovery, as advocated by art. 35 of the "Sblocca Italia" (2014), which implicitly endorsed the practice of treating urban waste for the sole purpose of "transforming" it into special, free circulation, saturating the available capacity of the plants and "displacing" the waste produced by the cheap.
What to do now? It is undoubtedly necessary to rethink waste management in Italy, overcoming the dualism between urban and special waste and building the plants necessary for their management, with solutions capable of ensuring the “proximity” of disposal e of the recovery also of non-domestic waste, in order to limit its movements and costs for families and businesses. Not only. If the problems related to the management of industrial waste are not addressed and policies for the construction of new plants are not supported, it is inevitable that there will be a loss of competitiveness of the entire industrial system, with higher costs for both businesses and families (who will buy the products).
But also to give life to a true "circularity" of the economy and society, which will be difficult to achieve without adequate waste management. An example? Italy is fourth in Europe for the recycling rate of materials: some industrial supply chains have been "very circular" for some time, with percentages above 50%. However, neither willingness nor compliance with the rules is enough: if you don't want to frustrate this result - and enjoy the benefits - it is essential to put the waste management system in a position to function in the best possible way, without waste.
