A few days after celebrating the 15th anniversary of its zero waste commitment, Capannori, the frontrunner city in the European zero waste and circular economy movement, becomes a Zero Waste Certified City with the accreditation of 4 stars.
The Zero Waste Cities Certification is a robust European third-party assessed certification standard, developed by the non-governmental organisation Mission Zero Academy (MiZA) and powered by Zero Waste Europe, aimed at accelerating the European cities’ zero waste transition and circular economy implementation. It has been fully supported by the non-profit local organisation Zero Waste Italy.
Being the leader in the zero waste movement, both at the national and European level, Capannori counts with a wide range of waste prevention, reuse and recycling measures in place; it has created a dedicated strategy for improvements, engaging widely both with the local community and different stakeholders to facilitate the zero waste transition.
Among its impressive and inspiring results, the municipality of Capannori, with the support of Zero Waste Italy, managed to achieve:
- 81,86% of separate collection rate, while the European average is about 48%
- 59 kg of residual waste per capita, about 60% below the Italian average.
Following the Certification, made of 5 steps and developed around a scorecard system with mandatory and points-based criteria, the municipality will carry out yearly improvements to monitor and enhance the outcomes achieved, which will be subjected to new audits every 3 years in order to confirm the Certification status, with the possibility to level up, reaching a maximum of 5 stars.
“We are proud of this extraordinary recognition, which comes 15 years after joining the Zero Waste strategy. It confirms that by focusing on environmental protection, restoring waste as a resource to new life, and avoiding incineration, we are on the right path towards a circular economy that will ensure a quality future for the new generations – Our goal now is to become even more virtuous by facing the new challenges that are emerging today and to reach new stages of the zero waste strategy”.
Luca Menesini, Mayor of Capannori, said and added
“I thank all the citizens of Capannori for this result, a cohesive community ready to respond positively to every innovation, the Ascit company and all its workers, the Zero Waste Research Center, and Rossano Ercolini, a teacher on the subject who has always been on our side, always contributing with valuable ideas”.
“The Zero Waste Cities network began with Capannori and has since then inspired hundreds of European cities serving as a starting point for our Zero Waste Cities Certification. We want to congratulate them on their achievement and continuous leadership on the topic. We are sure they once again serve as an inspiration to other cities in Italy and beyond.”
Kaisa Karjalainen, Mission Zero Academy Manager, stated.
“I am proud that my hometown of Capannori has been certified as a Zero Waste City by MiZA. This is the best way to celebrate the anniversary of our zero-waste commitment and to further the bottom up story that started with the defeat of an incinerator. Zero waste is possible and necessary for an Ecological Revolution”,
highlighted Rossano Ercolini, Zero Waste Italy and Zero Waste Europe President.
Being the frontrunner of the Italian and European zero waste movement, Capannori’s Certification marks the beginning of a new circular era for Europe.
Want to know more about the Zero Waste Cities Certification? Find out more here.
