Italy confirms itself as a country at the forefront in the sustainable management of urban waste. This is demonstrated by the data presented in the 2024 Urban Waste Report of ISPRA (Higher Institute for Environmental Protection and Research), which photographs a nation increasingly oriented towards the circular economy. Separate waste collection reached 66.6% in 2023an increase compared to the 65.2% of the previous year, with an increase of 211,000 tonnes of separated waste.
North at the top, South on the rise
The report highlights a clear distinction between the macro-areas of the country. The Northern Italy confirms itself as a leader with a separate waste collection rate of 73.4%followed by Center with the 62.3%. The Southalbeit with a lower value (58.9%), shows a significant growth trend, reducing the gap with other geographical areas. The gap between North and South decreased by 4.5 percentage points, while that between Center and South decreased by 3.8 points.
The most virtuous regions
Among the most virtuous regions, the Veneto confirms itself in first place with the 77.7% of separate waste collection, followed by Emilia-Romagna (77.1%) And Sardinia (76.3%). However, they are positioned at the bottom of the ranking Lazio (55.4%), Sicily (55.2%) And Calabria (54.8%).
Treviso leader among the provinces
At the provincial level, Treviso confirms itself as the most virtuous with the89.1% of separate waste collection. They follow Mantua (87%), Belluno (85.8%) and Pordenone (85.4%). Numerous other provinces are above or close to 80%, including Reggio Emilia (83.3%), Forlì-Cesena (81.7%), Oristano (81.3%), Trento (81.2%), Bergamo (80.5%), Novara (80.4%), Monza and Brianza (79.9%) and Parma (79.7%). Furthermore, all Italian provinces achieve a percentage of separate waste collection of more than 30%.
Bologna first among the big cities
Among cities with over 200,000 inhabitants, Bologna stands out for its commitment to separate waste collection, reaching almost 73%. An excellent result that places it as a virtuous model for other large Italian cities. They follow Padua, Venice and Milan, While Naples, Catania and Palermo they are at the bottom of the ranking.
Recycling at 50.8%, but the European target is 65%
Despite progress in separate waste collection, the recycling percentage of urban waste stands at 50.8%, up compared to 49.2% in 2022, but still far from the European target of 65% to be achieved by 2035. The increase of 1.6 percentage points is a positive sign, but highlights the need for further effort to improve the quality of collection and upgrade treatment plants.
Packaging: paper, steel, plastic and wood are doing well, glass and aluminum are down
The ISPRA report also provides detailed data on packaging recycling. In 2023, all product fractions exceeded the recycling targets set at European level for 2025, with the exception of plastic, which stood at 48%, close to the 50% target. Recycled quantities of packaging waste increased by 1.3% compared to 2022, reaching 10.5 million tonnes. In particular, there was an increase of 7.9% for paper, 2.4% for steel, 1.4% for plastic and 0.8% for wood. However, glass (-10.8%) and aluminum (-1.5%) fell.
Landfills: too much waste still ends up underground
A worrying fact concerns landfill disposal, which it still affects 15.8% of urban wasteequal to 4.6 million tonnes. Although down from 5.2 million in 2022, this percentage is still too high and far from the 10% target to be reached by 2035.
Italy among the most virtuous in Europe in recycling
The ISPRA Report also highlights the comparison with other European countries. Italy stands out for a 2.8% increase in the quantity of waste destined for recycling, in contrast to the European average which records a decrease of 0.7%. In particular, Italy increased the recycling of dry fractions by 4.1% and the treatment of the organic fraction by 1.2%.
Future challenges: plant gap, quality of collection and management costs
Despite the positive results, the ISPRA report highlights some critical issues that must be addressed to further improve municipal waste management in Italy. Among the main challenges: the system gap between the different regions, especially in the South; the need to improve the quality of separate waste collection to reduce non-recyclable waste; and the management of costs, which weigh on municipal budgets and citizens’ pockets.
“The report tells of an Italy moving towards environmental sustainability”, commented the president of ISPRA, Stefano Laporta. “The increase in separate waste collection and the significant reduction in landfill disposal are results that demonstrate a concrete commitment towards a circular economy model”. A commitment which, as underlined by the Deputy Minister of the Environment and Energy Security, Vannia Gavarequires “teamwork” between citizens, businesses and institutions to achieve even more ambitious goals. The path taken is the right one, but it is necessary to accelerate the pace to transform Italy into a model of excellence in sustainable waste management”.
