The Atlas of the circular economy is launched — a constantly updated website that aims to collect all of Italy's most virtuous experiences.
There is Bimora, the startup that created a reverse-vending machine; there is Junker Life, the app that identifies the type of waste and indicates which bins it should be thrown into; and then there is Tyrebirth, the company that has found a way to recycle end-of-life tyres in just 30 minutes using microwaves. And there are another 97 stories of virtuous enterprises, making a total of one hundred experiences that form the starting nucleus of the first Italian Atlas of the Circular Economy: a genuine archive, to be enriched over time, which aims to census and tell — through a geo-referenced, interactive web platform — the stories of businesses and associations capable of applying the principles of the circular economy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCvZykPWI0I
Reuse, waste reduction, cutting rubbish, and reintroducing recovered raw materials into the production cycle: these are the watchwords of the project, promoted by Ecodom, the Italian consortium for the recovery of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), and by the first Centre for Documentation on Environmental Conflicts in Italy (Cdca).
A first look at the atlas reveals that circular economy experiences span the most diverse sectors, a sign of Italy's ability to draw resources from what has been discarded and to succeed in changing consumption habits: 19 per cent are companies involved in waste recycling and material recovery, such as those mentioned at the outset. Companies producing fashion and furnishing items (bags, diaries, belts, rugs) are also performing very well — among them Alisea, which created Perpetua, the pencil made 80 per cent from graphite that does not dirty your hands, does not break and writes even without a tip, and Carmina Campus, which transformed the bases of tin cans into a design line, using the pull-tabs to make precious bracelets, rings, earrings and necklaces.
There is no shortage of recycling examples in construction either, such as TS Asfalti, which recycles asphalt, Mook, which uses wood worn by the sea, pieces of old doors, furniture and fabrics, as well as companies that produce eco-sustainable dyes or sustainable architecture. Around ten of the enterprises included in the atlas belong to the food sector, among them the Centro di lombicultura, which manages the production and sale of worm humus to improve soil structure, Funghi espresso, which uses coffee grounds to grow mushrooms, and Crush, Favini's new eco-friendly range made with citrus, grape, cherry, lavender and maize residues rescued from landfill, which replace up to 15 per cent of tree-derived cellulose.
According to Giorgio Arienti, managing director of Ecodom, "the circular economy represents an important objective and a necessary change of approach, given that the planet's resources are increasingly scarce. In Italy, waste is worth 10 billion a year, but only 1 billion enters the circular economy circuit, according to the Waste strategy annual report 2017. The atlas and the experiences it contains are demonstrating that it is possible to envision sustainable economic systems with a low environmental impact and high social value." Not to mention that, according to the European Commission, the circular economy could create 2 million new jobs and generate annual savings of around 72 billion euros for European businesses.