“In the Taranto recycling plant we transform 60,000 tons of waste in a year”

In front of recycling bins, one is always caught in doubt and wonders: “Where shall I throw it?”. For example, for clashes which is the right container. What about ceramics? The cork stoppers? “Thinking of acting for the good of the environment, even the most attentive to sustainability often throw waste in the wrong bin. A common mistake”. Carmelo Marangi he is well aware of the habits and goodwill of many citizens who contribute to the recovery of materials.

Will often put to the test by the countless rules that oversee separate collection. Vice-president of Unirima, the main Italian association of companies in the recycling sector and point of reference for the “green” industry, Marangi also directs the Recselan Apulian company that deals with both separate waste collection and the recycling and reuse of paper, plastic and glass in the province of Tarentum and of many towns in the hinterland of Bari and Brindisi and Matera. Agreement with the various consortia of the supply chain Conai (Comieco, Corepla, Coreve, Cial, Ricrea) “the material enters waste from us and new goods come out, especially paper” proudly underlines Marangi.

In fact, Recsel is one of the excellences of the South. Highly specialized in the 2022 in its plants have been selected and passed under the technological readers and well operators 60 thousand tons of dry waste: 35 thousand tons of cardboard, 20 thousand of plastic and 5 thousand of glass. “It is no coincidence that in an area like that of Taranto that is often at the center of debates on the environment, there has never been a crisis regarding waste collection”, Marangi is keen to underline “a city that is transforming itself precisely to overcome its past. In Taranto we are witnessing an awakening of ecological awareness and all citizens together are making an effort to direct their economy towards sustainability which, as demonstrated by Recsel, can produce jobs”.

50 people work in the Apulian plants of the company engaged in the sorting, selection and recovery of recyclable waste (paper, cardboard, plastic, cans and glass). There are two treatment lines: one used for the selection of the various materials, the other for the packaged goods ready to be sold on the market or sent to the various CONAI plants. All waste (15% of the total) is sent to waste-to-energy plants or final disposal. “We practically take nothing to the landfill – explains Marangi – to guarantee a better selection and a greater degree of recyclability of the waste according to the standards required by the companies, they are first selected with special machines (bag openers, separators, optical readers), but the quality of materials is ultimately guaranteed by a 100% visual inspection by expert operators”.

If it is true that emptying the packaging and separate waste it is a virtuous gesture, it is equally true that often the various product packaging risks nullifying the entire recovery process. The vice president of Unirima explains again: “Just to give waste as much new life as possible, it is necessary to identify precisely when the paper or cardboard is contaminated with other materials such as plastic or metal. This often happens in the case of packaging made up of several materials where it is difficult to separate them. For this reason, during our meetings with companies, we explain how important the design of a packaging that does not include paper or plastic together, but only paper, which is easier to recycle”. A zero waste lifestyle must therefore involve not only consumption habits, but to prolong the life of materials it is necessary to think about the heterogeneity of materials with which the products are packaged.Let’s go back to the origin of the discussion most common mistakes? The most common question is “Where do I throw it?”.

“Separate collection is now a social norm that has become a daily routine. Sometimes, however, it takes effort to identify the correct disposal – underlines Marangi – Plastic, glass, paper or undifferentiated? Due to lack of information from the public administration, we often rely on the intuition risking making a mistake. And so that product that could have had a new life cycle ends up in the landfill. What is the object that we find most of all in the wrong place? Shopping bags made of bioplastic. We all change hands days, but most consumers consider them equal to plastic and throw them in those traditional containers. It must be said clearly that they must be placed in organic waste because they are biodegradable. At least while waiting for a new regulation”.