”The catastrophe meant
”The catastrophe meant people were open to radical solutions,” Ercolini said. an alternative that was good for the environment, but also for the economy. created 60 well-paid jobs in recycling and doorto-door collection (the average number of people working in an incinerator is 62). The town saves €2 million a year from sales of recycled materials. ”Europe is poor in raw materials, but our cities are electronics and other garbage,” Ercolini said. foremost environmental award. ”All may not reach that goal but at least they are working in that direction,” Ercoloni said. People in Treviso generate on average 53 kilograms of non-recyclable waste per inhabitant a year. THE EU’S AMBITIOUS REALISM So what stops the movement from spreading throughout Europe? for an industrial revolution. The circular economy package aimed to reform the EU economic model from a “take, make, use, and throw away”, or “linear” approach, into one in which resources are re-used, repaired, and recycled. recycling municipal waste at 65 percent. journalists at the time: “We could have also said: 100 percent. And then it would be even more ambitious. But what would that have meant in the real world? We've set a target which we think is very ambitious, but realistic.” THE CIRCULAR LOOP publication why some waste was not recyclable. she said. Some materials lose quality after each additional life cycle. ”Paper, for instance, can be recycled up to seven times,” she said. Primary school teacher Rossano Ercolini redesigned the waste management system in his home town of leads the zero waste Photo: Zero Waste France 10 — FUTURE CITIES OCTOBER 2016
A Swedish incineration worker watches trash burn. Sweden has for from other countries. It has so many government is worried how to feed them. Photo: Zero Waste France According to Stengler, waste, which “despite all efforts" cannot be prevented or recycled, should be used to produce electricity and heat. It can replace fossil fuel and help countries to meet renewable energy targets, she noted. "Energy from waste is considered about 50 percent renewable," Stengler said. Another reason that helped make waste-to-energy incinerators popular in countries such as Sweden is the cheap cost of energy from waste, even if plants require considerable initial investment. government is worried that the country has built more incinerators than can be fed. IMPORTING TRASH Sweden has for years had to import trash from other countries. That recourse could come under pressure as the year and recycling rates increase. directive, which aims to re-design products so that to eliminate some waste that cannot be recycled. Stengler said it would take years, though, before that would affect waste generation. ”We have to be careful with capacity planning and take into account waste prevention and recycling efforts. We do not want overcapacity,” she said. overcapacity in Europe as a whole. Stengler added that the lack of reliable statistics was a big issue in capacity discussions. calculations which diverge between countries,” she bureau. industrial waste. Ercolini, meanwhile, insisted there was no such thing as non-preventable waste. to look for ways to transform non-recyclable pulp into plastics. The research project receives EU funding. without trash," he said. "We need to change the way we think about waste, some innovation and, maybe, some brave politicians." FUTURE CITIES OCTOBER 2016 — 11
