Zero waste in Tuscany

In Italy, in the small town of Capannori in Tuscany they have adopted a “zero waste” policy. Through door-to-door rubbish collection and a range of rubbish reduction policies, the authorities have achieved a record-breaking recycling rate of 82%. By the year 2020 they’re hoping for a rate of 100%.

43,000 out of a population of 46,000 people participate in the recycling scheme and a free kit to explain how to sort household rubbish helps people not to make mistakes. Thanks to sorting and recycling, nearly 100,000 trees, and the emission of 9,100 tons of CO2 were saved in 2008. Better still, Capannori earned 340,000 euros from paper recycling.