Seborga is a small municipality in the Liguria region located in the northwest part of Italy, right on the French border. Liguria, like many other Italian regions, has been struggling with a number of difficult issues surrounding waste management and long transports. But there are also success stories, like the one in Seborga. The small municipality with 320 residents has since 2013 completely rearranged its waste management, and by 2015 they managed to recycle as much as 72% of their organic waste. It was four times as much as the year before and the positive trend seem to continue.
Switching to a sustainable system
By installing a Big Hanna T120 and investing in local composting Seborga chose to take their environmental concern and commitment seriously and begin a change over of its entire waste management. The transition began in 2013, and relatively soon the municipality managed to take care of all their organic waste and thus avoid all their former costs for transportation and disposal. Instead they reduced their total waste management costs and gained a valuable by-product they use in municipal green areas.Organic waste per month during 2016:
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2016
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ORGANIC WASTE
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January
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898.90 kg
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February
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744,10 kg
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March
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825,61 kg
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April
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792,84 kg
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May
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1.089,00 kg
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June
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1.617,46 kg
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July
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3.009,86 kg
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August
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1.627,37 kg
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September
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1.182,20 kg
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October
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952,15 kg
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November
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888,90 kg
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December
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1.092,80 kg
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Total
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14.721,19 kg
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Pioneers in Liguria
Enrico Ilariuzzi, Mayor of Seborga, is very pleased with the result of the change towards a more sustainable system.
– We made careful calculations and work plans during several years and that work has led us both to decreasing costs and to lower fees. Furthermore, we have achieved important results in terms of recycling and sustainability.
As the mayor’s assistant secretary, Lara Ficarra has followed the project closely. She has been responsible for following up the project and for quality checks and has only good things to say about the quality of the project and about the produced compost.
– We are on the right track. So far, Seborga is the first municipality in Liguria that have implemented local composting of all the local organic waste, and to carry it out with the Big Hanna T120 has given us excellent results.
Unfortunately, she has seen that the regional and national cuts at subsidies and other financial incentives has made it more difficult for municipals that want to change their waste management. But the cuts have also led to a new approach and the aim to optimize resources. As the economy strengthens in Italy and Europe, she believes that more regions and municipalities will be able to prioritize the issues concerning sustainability and recycling.
The positive results in Seborga have now also led to a shift to differentiated waste fees in the municipality. This is yet another positive step towards a more sustainable and environmentally friendly waste management for the residents in the municipality.
Read more about Achab Group: www.achabgroup.it
Read more about Big Hanna and its composting machines: www.bighanna.com