(Adnkronos) - Dall'economia circolare alle città sostenibili, dall'energia all'acqua: a Ecomondo 2024 l'appuntamento della Green Economy
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00:00In collaboration with
00:02In collaboration with
00:12From the circular economy to sustainable cities, from energy to water,
00:16to Ecomundo 2024, the Green Economy meeting.
00:22To reach the goals of the PNRR,
00:24it is necessary to value as much as possible
00:26the products of agricultural origin and the collection of organic fraction, the FOSU.
00:30We need measures of simplification of administrative food
00:33and urgent measures that favor the access to the distribution network of the biomethane product.
00:38These are some guidelines for the development of the biomethane supply chain in Italy
00:42traced by the National Biomethane Technological Platform,
00:45coordinated by the CIC, the Italian Composting Consortium,
00:49and by the CIB, the Italian Biogas Consortium.
00:52During the Biomethane Platform Convention,
00:55it is necessary to evaluate in perspective the actions for the development of biomethane.
00:58The numbers that we have reached, on the one hand, are exceptional,
01:02because they show that a machine that can stand can be started.
01:09However, this machine must proceed,
01:11it must proceed both in the agricultural sector and in the sector of the organic fraction of waste.
01:17And we need many simplifications.
01:20We are aware that there is a coverage of the entire national territory
01:24in terms of the collection of moisture,
01:26because it is the matrix that generates more biomethane,
01:30and we are aware that this is just the beginning of a phase of transition,
01:35because six years ago biomethane was not produced,
01:39now we have millions of cubic meters,
01:43and therefore a path has begun that should take us further and further.
01:49Therefore, the policies related to biomethane incentivization
01:52will probably have to look beyond 2026,
01:56which is the last term of adequacy as regards the PNRR.
02:02At the Convention there is also GSE, Energy Services Manager,
02:06which plays a crucial role in the development of biomethane in Italy,
02:09promoting the integration of this renewable source in the national energy market,
02:14with 170 qualified plants,
02:16which will guarantee an annual productivity of over 1 billion cubic meters.
02:21Here 170 plants have been qualified
02:25for a potential production capacity of over 1 billion cubic meters of biomethane.
02:31110 plants have already entered into operation.
02:35Only these allow the production of 760 million cubic meters of biomethane,
02:41which is almost enough to decarbonize the transport sector.
02:46Provide a strategic tool to disseminate the good practices of collection and recycling of organic waste
02:51and biodegradable and compostable bioplastic packaging.
02:55With this objective, the Biorecycle Observatory,
02:58wanted by the Italian Compostatori Consortium, the CIC,
03:01and the Biorepack Consortium,
03:03and presented at Ecomondo, the benchmark fair for the Green and Circular Economy sector,
03:08differentiated the collection of wet and compostable packaging
03:11mandatory in Italy for more than two years
03:13and in the rest of the European Union since January last year.
03:16Still today, however, within the organic waste
03:18delivered to the treatment plants,
03:20there are significant quantities of non-compostable materials,
03:24in particular plastic, glass and metal,
03:26which can compromise the efficiency and sustainability of the entire system.
03:30As a force, the organic fraction of urban solid waste,
03:34wet from differentiated collection, so all the citizens understand it,
03:37is collected in Italy with a quantity that exceeds 5.5 million.
03:42But it can be done much more,
03:44because keep in mind that every citizen could come
03:47to collect separately, as a force, 140 kg per year.
03:52So if you multiply them by the number of citizens,
03:55we should go much above.
03:57Also the quality, unfortunately, is a bit of a free fall
04:02and compostable packaging are essential,
04:05both to increase the interception by citizens
04:09of this type of waste, but also to improve the quality.
04:13According to recent analyses conducted by the CIC Center,
04:17the average percentage of impurities in the entrance of the plants
04:20is 7.1% of the total,
04:22higher than the mandatory limits of 5% provided by the minimum environmental criteria
04:27of the Ministry of Environment and Energy Safety.
04:30An even more worrying quantity,
04:32if we consider that it causes a national average waste of matter
04:37during the treatment phases,
04:39is equal to 21.9%,
04:41significantly reducing the amount of compost produced at the end of the process.
04:45Increasing the quality means putting in the wet what is wet,
04:50so we enter the field of compostable packaging,
04:56which are the ones that should help to collect more moisture,
05:01as containers, bags, shopping bags, plates, glasses,
05:08so that, being these compostable packaging,
05:13they contribute to produce compost and not waste.
05:19So, on the one hand, we want to collect more organic matter
05:23and produce more compost and also generate energy
05:27in the form of biomethane or biogas.
05:30And, on the other hand, to develop applications
05:35in compostable plastic materials that are not the replacement of plastic.
05:41It is a specific space for the development and innovation
05:47of the world of plastic materials in applications
05:50connected with food or food waste.
05:53Digitization and quality of lubricants, research and environment.
05:57CONOU, National Consortium for Collection and Treatment of Used Oils,
06:01also this year is present in Ecomondo,
06:03the most important fair of the Green Circular Economy
06:06at the European level in Rimini.
06:08At the center of the debate the Cyber Security,
06:11increasingly important also for the companies, members of the consortium.
06:15Our collection companies are small companies
06:18that also have a data heritage
06:20and that operate thanks to digital systems
06:23that can be attached,
06:25so they must prepare and defend themselves from this type of threat.
06:29A plan and rules and procedures must be prepared
06:32to be able to defend themselves from the risks.
06:34And then PFAS, highly polluting and carcinogenic indestructible molecules
06:39used everywhere that spread in the drinking waters of the whole world,
06:43also putting at risk the circularity processes.
06:45We want to talk about it,
06:47in the sense that now this topic is not talked about enough, in my opinion.
06:52The United States is very active on this front,
06:55they are doing many studies and many interventions,
06:58for example of classification and transparency,
07:01because the issue of PFAS, which is not even known where they are often,
07:04there are many common use products and we do not know that there are.
07:07So this is an aspect of transparency that must certainly be taken care of.
07:11Europe is thinking of a ban on the use of PFAS,
07:15but there are some difficulties for some uses.
07:17In Italy we had a great process,
07:19in Vicenza, which dates back to 2013,
07:24but the notoriety is very low,
07:26so in my opinion it is an important issue,
07:28because then it concerns drinking water,
07:30so it does not concern a good that I use rarely.
07:33Drinking water is fundamental.
07:35Aluminum is the paradigm of the circular economy,
07:37thanks to its properties that allow a 100% recycling.
07:41In 2023, 70.3% of aluminum packaging was recycled
07:47and put on the market, or 59,300 tons,
07:51and with their energy recovery,
07:53the total of those completely recovered amounts to 74.1%.
07:58These are the numbers of the circular economy of aluminum
08:01brought up by the CIEL,
08:02National Consortium for Aluminum Packaging and Ecomondo 2024,
08:06the Green Economy Fair in Rimini.
08:08CIEL is a national consortium of the CONAI system,
08:11a non-profit consortium, we work all over Italy.
08:14We deal with the recycling of aluminum packaging.
08:17We deal with the passage immediately after the different collection,
08:21that is, we recycle what the municipalities and citizens collect,
08:26bringing, after the selection of the material,
08:29all the aluminum collected in one of the recycling foundries
08:32on the territory, in total we have 11.
08:34With an average of 70%,
08:36the recycling rate of aluminum packaging in Italy
08:39is therefore well above the objectives of the European Union
08:42by 2025, 50%,
08:45and by 2030, 60%.
08:48Important numbers that have allowed to avoid greenhouse emissions
08:51equal to 417,000 tons of CO2
08:54and to save energy for over 182,000 equivalent tons of oil.
08:59Aluminum can be considered the perfect paradigm of the circular economy,
09:03first of all because it is a material that is completely recycled,
09:06100%, nothing is thrown away,
09:09and above all because it can undergo countless and infinite recycling cycles
09:15without losing its characteristics,
09:17in the sense that you will never recognize
09:20if the aluminum, an object made of aluminum,
09:23is made of primary aluminum from bauxite
09:25or is made of secondary aluminum.
09:27All the aluminum produced in Italy comes from recycling.
09:30Thanks to its properties, when we talk about aluminum,
09:33we are not only talking about the use and throw, but about use and recycling.
09:37Because, just look at the data,
09:39even 75% of the aluminum ever produced in history
09:42is still in circulation,
09:44thanks to what we were saying,
09:45the countless recycling phases
09:47that allow it to remain essentially the same,
09:50despite multiple and infinite uses.
09:53With 1.2 billion euros of investment,
09:56Italy can reduce dependence from abroad
09:58on raw materials of almost a third,
10:00generating over 6 billion euros of added value for the industry by 2040.
10:04This is one of the main evidences
10:06that emerged from the Italian roadmap
10:08for raw materials written by IREN,
10:10a study of which results have also been brought to the Ecomondo of Rimini,
10:14the fair of circular economy and sustainability.
10:18Raw materials are a key element for national competitiveness,
10:22contributing to 690 billion euros of industrial production in the country,
10:26equal to 32% of the Italian GDP.
10:29It is therefore essential to invest in plant capacity
10:33for recovery and treatment,
10:35since today 90% of the components of raw materials,
10:38from which raw materials are extracted, are exported.
10:42IREN, in all this, is a candidate
10:45to be the main reference operator
10:47for the recovery from the waste of these critical materials.
10:50We do this with the construction and launch
10:53of the first critical materials recovery plant
10:56in Arezzo on December 11,
10:58in the presence of the institutions,
11:00and we will present a plant
11:02that recovers critical materials from electrical waste.
11:06In Italy, the plants accredited
11:08for the recovery and treatment of raw materials
11:10are not suitable for the management of the volumes produced.
11:13Only 47 plants out of 1,071
11:15are accredited, equal to 4.3%.
11:18IREN is candidate to become operator and leader of the sector.
11:22To give an example of how much this plant recovers,
11:26per year we will produce about 200 kg of gold,
11:30which is an important quantity,
11:33nickel, copper, palladium.
11:35It is a plant that will become strategic
11:38and that will be the beginning of a new strategy of IREN
11:42in the collection, valorization and extraction
11:46of metals or critical materials
11:49that must be used for the industry
11:54and for our manufacturing.
11:56In January 2024, IREN issued a green bond
11:59of 500 million euros,
12:01which makes the group aware of the market
12:03welcomed in a very satisfactory way,
12:05a sign that investors are increasingly interested
12:08in interventions that concern sustainability.
12:11We have a strategy very much linked to sustainability,
12:14to the circular economy, to the regenerative economy,
12:17and therefore we are absolutely in line and consistent
12:20with this type of investor
12:22and the issuance of a green bond
12:24shows us, in addition to being totally consistent with this,
12:29also very interested in further developing
12:32this type of financial activity.
12:34The future of the PET line
12:36and the challenges of the battle-to-battle recycling
12:38with the involvement of experts in the academic sector
12:41and representatives of the retail sector.
12:43Coripet participates and commends Arimini
12:45with the AR-PET Talks,
12:47the deepening meetings
12:49dedicated to the battle-to-battle theme.
12:51It means a bottle refusal,
12:53a bottle that has reached its end of life,
12:57so it has ceased its initial purpose
13:00of containing and preserving a liquid for food,
13:04so we give it a second life
13:07in the noblest possible context,
13:09that is, we make it a new bottle
13:12suitable for direct contact with food.
13:15Between state of the art and new European regulations
13:17for the PET recycling,
13:19which since 2025 will require the collection
13:21of 77% of bottles
13:23and at least 25% of PET recycled in new bottles,
13:27Coripet to Ecomondo explores the issue
13:29of food safety
13:31of the central recycled PET for consumers.
13:34We already have strong indications
13:36where they tell us that
13:38the contaminations are very low,
13:40the substances we find
13:42are far below the food safety limits
13:47provided not only by the regulations
13:49but also by the authoritative technical opinions,
13:54such as the American or Japanese,
13:57and the other thing we see
14:00is that the quality of the collection
14:02influences a good reduction
14:05of these contaminations.
14:07So today the European AR-PET
14:09with the most selective collection possible,
14:13an increasingly controlled process,
14:16we can say that
14:18we have a very high level of food safety.
14:21Maximum safety and quality, therefore,
14:23thanks to a rigorous and central role
14:25of the management of waste.
14:28A caution on the purchase
14:31of PET bottles,
14:36which would then be returned
14:38when the vacuum is given to the container.
14:43For us, this could be an opportunity,
14:47because there is an immediate advantage
14:50on the environment and health.
14:53There is an indirect advantage
14:55that could be a reduction of the tax
14:57on the waste that is on us,
14:59consumers and users.
15:01As we know, it is very serious.
15:03The CEA group also participates this year
15:05at Ecomondo, the most important fair
15:07of the Green Circular Economy
15:09of the Euro-Mediterranean area
15:12The projects presented want to confirm
15:14the Green vocation of the industrial group
15:17with strategies that target
15:19the sustainable use of resources,
15:21such as the eco-compatible development
15:23of infrastructures that primarily concern
15:25the water sector, in which CEA
15:27has the largest national player
15:29with 10 million inhabitants served.
15:31In the water sector,
15:33the historical activity is that of
15:35adduction and capture.
15:37We are also developing the business
15:39of the treatment of industrial water,
15:41therefore of the closure of the cycle
15:43and the reuse of water for agriculture.
15:45And the environment, from the regeneration
15:47of plastic materials to the recovery
15:49of selected organic matrices,
15:51otherwise destined for discharge,
15:53up to the reuse of wastewater
15:55and sand deposits,
15:57or composting,
15:59to create fertilizer
16:01to be used in agriculture.
16:03As far as composting is concerned,
16:05we are investing a lot
16:07to develop three plants that we have,
16:09one in Tuscany, one in Lazio
16:11and one in Umbria.
16:13Also here the idea is to
16:15strengthen the supply chain
16:17trying to make a product that can be
16:19not only dispersed to go to the fields
16:21but also packaged,
16:23therefore finding with the Valley supply chain,
16:25which are the farmers, points of collaboration.
16:27At Ecomondo 2024,
16:29annual event leader in the sectors
16:31of Green and Circular Economy,
16:33which was held in Rimini,
16:35the National Electronic Register
16:37for Wastewater Traceability,
16:39OMNISYST, a company with 30 years
16:41of experience in the circular management
16:43of industrial waste,
16:45has clarified its proactive approach
16:47in view of the way of the system.
16:49The RENTRI is an acronym
16:51for the National Electronic Register
16:53for Wastewater Traceability.
16:55The keyword is electronic
16:57because the register is a kind of
16:59already used in wastewater traceability
17:01regularly, only that it happens
17:03in cartaceous format.
17:05Here, just as it happened
17:07for electronic billing a few years ago
17:09and that is working well,
17:11the same will happen in the world of waste.
17:13That is, it goes digital.
17:15The process of digitization
17:17strongly wanted by the European Union
17:19and strongly wanted by the Italian institutions
17:21that also here, as we learn
17:23here at Ecomondo,
17:25they strongly want the RENTRI
17:27to start in the scheduled times.
17:29It starts soon.
17:31The meeting is scheduled for February 13.
17:33In the round table,
17:35RENTRI, where we had to stay,
17:37we talked about the opportunities
17:39but also the criticisms to face.
17:41I start with the criticisms because
17:43evidently a system,
17:45we are talking here about digitization
17:47and therefore there are
17:49a whole series of tests
17:51still to be carried out.
17:53There are the latest clarifications
17:55of the technical tables that have been
17:57going on for several months
17:59and there is a certain ferment
18:01for this process to go
18:03in the right way.
18:05So this is a part
18:07that is certainly the subject
18:09of many discussions and work tables.
18:11The opportunities are all
18:13opportunities offered by digitization.
18:15Therefore, process efficiency
18:17and integration with everything
18:19that is the digitalization process
18:21that has been happening for several years
18:23in the field of ERP.
18:25For example, Omnisys
18:27is a portal of digitization
18:29for more than 20 years
18:31that offers its customers
18:33and therefore it is a process
18:35that is already in the plots
18:37of the waste sector.
18:39This makes it
18:41the natural way of operating.
18:43Digitization, therefore
18:45efficiently, essentially.
18:47Acoustic and anti-vibrant insulators
18:49for the building,
18:51modified asphalts and urban network.
18:53In the years Ecopneus,
18:55a non-profit project
18:57among the main responsible
18:59for the management of unused tires,
19:01has recounted and revealed
19:03the 1,000 uses of tire recycling.
19:05This year, on the occasion
19:07of the 2024 edition of Ecomundo,
19:09the annual leader in sectors
19:11of the Green and Circular Economy,
19:13Ecopneus wanted to focus
19:15on applications in sport,
19:17meeting the major sports associations
19:19to talk about the path
19:21of sustainability.
19:23We have a protocol
19:25to push
19:27and practice sustainability
19:29in sport.
19:31We know that sports surfaces
19:33are one of the main applications
19:35of tire recycling.
19:37Together with all the others,
19:39such as the modified asphalts,
19:41because we remember that
19:43in August this year
19:45the Ministerial Decree
19:47on Minimum Environmental Criteria
19:49in Road Infrastructures was published
19:51in which it was stated
19:53that the use of long-term
19:55tires with lower acoustic impact
19:57and greater resistance
19:59and these are all qualities
20:01and performance that can be guaranteed
20:03by the use of dust and recycled rubber
20:05in the asphalt.
20:07So we are here to promote
20:09and remember the 1,000 applications
20:11and the great performance
20:13of this material,
20:15of this important resource.
20:17In the years, Ecopneus
20:19has developed an out-of-service
20:21technology that has allowed
20:23to avoid the emission of
20:25about 300,000 tons of CO2
20:27and a savings of 81 million euros
20:29in terms of importation
20:31of virgin materials.
20:33Results that we have already
20:35planned to reach this year
20:37and we have once again
20:39given the Ministry of the Environment
20:41for 2024 to do an activity
20:43up to 10% more
20:45than our legal target
20:47with the availability to intervene
20:49on emergencies and critical issues
20:51that are on the territory.
20:53We can do more, there is a need
20:55for coordination and collaboration.
20:57We have opened the dialogue
20:59with all our colleagues,
21:01our consortia, stakeholders,
21:03associations and citizens
21:05because we believe that dialogue
21:07and collaboration is the key
21:09to make the system work
21:11in terms of the ecological transition
21:13of the country.
21:15We are aware of the amount
21:17of out-of-service tires
21:19that escape the monitoring
21:21and control activities
21:23and therefore we are ready
21:25to intervene in this emergency
21:27situation with urgent interventions
21:29with an extraordinary
21:31logistics activity planning
21:33giving this availability
21:35and this activity to the Ministry.