Steel packaging: recycling at 73.4%
The figures for 2015 presented by Ricrea are clear: excellent results achieved for steel placed on the market, collection and recycling rates. And if coverage across the country has grown, the gap between North and South Italy still needs to be bridged. Consortium reports and strategies.
The recycling of steel packaging has continued to grow, so much so that - as the Ricrea consortium calculates * - with the tons recovered in Italy in 2015 you could build four Golden Gates.
Hence the amount of steel packaging marketed in Italy (+ 2.3%) has increased, while collection and recycling rates have improved, standing consecutively at (+ 3.2%) and (+ 3.5%). In practice, in 2015, 73.4% of steel placed on the market for consumption in Italy was recycled, to a total of 347,687 tons.
The data was released by the Ricrea Consortium at its annual assembly. President Maurizio Amadei (who this year will be concluding his second term) says on this regard: «The results are highly positive, and confirm the validity of the efforts made in recent years to promote and facilitate collection, which is the tool via which we achieve the recycling of steel packaging. Starting with the support we give to the local authorities to spread a correct environmental approach at local level».
Agreements and mandates renewed
Ricrea is committed to promoting the recycling of steel packaging, through the signing of agreements with the local authorities on the basis of the ANCI-CONAI framework agreement, the instrument through which the consortium system guarantees the Italian municipal authorities the financial coverage of the greater costs sustained in implementing and guaranteeing the segregated collection of packaging waste.«2014 saw the renewal of the framework agreement and the various technical annexes, but 2015 - Amadei states - was the year In which we renewed the agreements and mandates given to the operators or third parties.
As a Consortium we have intensified efforts, both from the economic point of view and as regards the communication campaigns, with the aim to improve collection results, especially in Central and Southern Italy. Two challenges in this regard come from Catania and Bari, where a new waste collection model is being introduced. And we will continue to work in this direction in the coming years».
The results at local level
Thanks to the attention given to the development of territorial coverage through agreements with Ricrea, in 2015 over 48.8 million inhabitants were reached, standing at 80.3% of the Italian population, with an increase of one percentage point on the year previous.
But if the population served in the North stands at 90%, in the Centre the percentage drops to 80% and in the South it stands at 73%.
Of the 127,899 tons collected thanks to the Anci-Conai conventions, 66% is from the North, 13% from the Centre and 21% from South Italy.
On the basis of the quantities declared by manufacturers and user companies, the figures steel for packaging placed on the market for consumption indicated by CONAI for 2015 amounted to 473,840 tons, up 2.3% compared to the figure in 2014.
It is a confirmation of the turnaround highlighted over the last two years, which has led to the regaining of part of the volumes lost in previous years. In addition, during 2015 the reduction of Conai Environmental Contribution (CAC) came into force, which for steel packaging has gone from 26 to 13 euros per ton: a positive sign for manufacturers given the current difficult economic context.
As many as 410,085 tons of packaging waste were collected in 2015, equal to the weight of about 5,118 railway locomotives. The per capita share of the steel packaging collected in one year was on average 3.82 kg per inhabitant.
|
The most recycled material in Europe Steel can be easily segregated and recycled endlessly without losing its quality. Thanks to magnetic separation, steel packaging can also be recovered from general waste collection: Ricrea is working with the local authorities throughout Italy to also improve the recovery rate of non segregated collection, thus avoiding the loss of resources. All the steel recycled from packaging can in fact be given a new life, for example being turned into tracks, girders, wrenches, bicycle frames, nails, bolts. Thanks to 347,687 tons of steel recovered from packaging in Italy in 2015, a direct saving of 660,605 tons of iron ore 208,612 tons of coal, as well as 622,359 tons of CO2 has been achieved. |
Ricrea: Changes at the top
Domenico Rinaldini is the new president of the National Italian Steel Packaging Collection and Recycling Consortium. Elected by the Board of Directors, he succeeds Maurizio Amadei, who has been in office for two consecutive terms. Married with two children, Rinaldini has been living in Piacenza for over 25 years, and has always worked in the world of steel packaging as a manager and as an institutional representative at national and European level.
«In recent years, thanks to the leadership of my predecessor Amadei - he declared - Ricrea has done a great job in promoting the collection and recycling of steel packaging. The recycling results achieved, exceeding 73%, go to prove it. By 2025 we expect to reach the 75% objective set by the European Union».
The Ricrea Board of Directors has also been partially renewed; below the new composition.
Vice-Presidenti/ Vice-Presidents: Lorenzo Pagani, Alessandro Tassinari; Consiglieri/Councilors: Athos Azzolini, Fabio Bove, Giovanni Cappelli, Giovanni De Angelis, Franco Gnudi, Paolo Miselli, Barbara Pedemonte, Guglielmo Prati, Rosolino Redaelli, Franco Reghenzani, Antonino Salerno, Giancarlo Staccia.
