We have been hearing for some time about behavioral rules for waste management paired with the letter ‘R’ of the alphabet.
It is a language game with randomly associated initial R of nouns that define five eco-sustainable virtuous behaviors: Reduce – Reuse – Recycle – Collect – Recover.
Italian regulations governing waste management have recently been reorganized in the “Testo Unico dell’Ambiente” Legislative Decree 152/2006 in which the different stages of collection and disposal are clarified.
Behavioral guidelines emerge from the text, which can be collected in the following points
Reduction
It is necessary to make choices of products that have less weight and low bulk packaging; it is also better to avoid waste such as plastic shopping bags or unnecessary printing of documents that can be stored digitally.
Reuse
We more carefully evaluate items that can have a second life before disposing of them permanently
Glass food jars can serve as DIY containers,
a sheet of paper can also be written on the back, and a discolored plastic jar can be painted
Recycling
There are many innovative technologies that make it possible to recycle materials to create new secondary raw materials i.e., materials whose origin is the result of processing from waste collection
The most common are paper, glass and plastic, which are refining techniques to the point where they work to be reused in the food world as well.
Collection
We need to learn to sort and separate the materials we are getting rid of by properly delivering them to the appropriate recycling bins (general, glass, paper, wet). This is an action that can be improved on a daily basis by working on more selective collection of mixed waste.
Recovery
Even properly executed undifferentiated waste collection conveyed to waste-to-energy plants has considerable value relative to its calorific value, which can be converted into heat and thus heating and electricity.
The plastic component over the past four decades has increased significantly, making it very profitable to incinerate the waste rather than stockpile it in landfills.
