RECYCLING

Biography

Biography: Roberto Cavallo

Abstract

Waste management today must come to terms with entirely new conditions. Up to a hundred years ago every product used by men was biodegradable or made with a simple chemical compound already present in the environment. The problems of pollution were therefore temporary, due to an excess of local concentration, destined to be resolved by themselves with the decrease of the anthropic pressure. The synthetic chemistry then paved the way for non-biodegradable, bioaccumulative and long-term toxic products. In addition, waste today is pervasive and spreads rapidly throughout the planet through rivers, lakes, oceans, emissions into the atmosphere ... What we "throw" into the environment lasts for thousands of years and produces irreversible damage. Definitely an inconvenient legacy for future generations. Dealing with a "zero waste" strategy is more than ever an act of profound responsibility and absolute necessity. Italy is the first nation in the world for the number of administrations, territorial realities and movements committed on the path towards "zero waste". The text presents the best Italian experiences towards "zero waste" and proposes guidelines to public administrations, businesses and citizens to prevent the negative impacts of waste. It deals with the following topics: waste prevention, reuse, recycling, recycling (supply chains, valorization, reproduct), organic waste and composting, economic instruments, eco-design as a waste prevention tool, communicating with citizens, the analysis of undifferentiated waste and the extended responsibility of the producer, what to do with what seems to be non-recyclable.