Every day, on the streets of Livorno, you can meet Francesco Stefanini, known to all as Mister Green. Riding his bicycle, with a cart attached, he travels through neighborhoods, parks and sidewalks collecting abandoned waste. Not a symbolic gesture every now and then, but a concrete and daily action: kilometers traveled and kilos of rubbish recovered, then regularly taken for disposal. A life choice that Francis defines without hesitation as a mission.
His commitment was born in a structured way during the pandemic, when Francesco found himself laid off. In that difficult period he decided to transform his free time into something useful: he bought a bike cart online and started going out every day. He hasn’t stopped since then.
An endless fight against waste and incivility
Over the years, Mister Green has collected tons of waste, also collaborating with local associations such as AcchiappaRifiuti and Reset. Over time, what seemed like an individual initiative turned into a civic battle against incivility which however seems endless:
It’s disappointing and frustrating to see so much incivility. I think having a clean city should be a satisfaction for everyone. Each of us has to put in a little effort. I’m just one person, but together we can make a difference.
Butts, the invisible enemy
Among the most difficult waste to eliminate are cigarette butts, omnipresent and often ignored. For this reason Francesco has adopted an innovative tool: “Dashi the butt catcher”, designed and patented by Saimir Dashi. Mister Green bought twelve of them, involving even the little ones. The result? In just a few minutes they collected hundreds of cigarette butts.
Education and future: “Pedaling to shine”
Francesco has also been entering schools for some time, talking about environmental education to children and young people. His dream is called “Pedaling to shine”: to create a fleet of equipped bicycles, entrusted to students, socially useful workers and recipients of income support. Because a few hours a week, with the commitment of many, would be enough to change the face of the city. In the meantime, keep pedaling:
The effort is great, but at the end of the day the satisfaction of having done something good makes it all worth it. We must understand that if we do not protect the environment, we do not protect ourselves either.
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