Italy's waste management sector continues to grow and, for every euro of added value, generates 3.4 euros in knock-on benefits for the national system.
The waste management sector in Italy recorded a notable increase in production value in 2022, reaching 18.2 billion euros, a rise of 10.5 per cent compared with the previous year. Above all, thanks to consolidation along the supply chain and technological development, the sector is adopting more efficient and intelligent solutions, contributing to the creation of shared value and to the social, economic and environmental sustainability of the country. This is what emerges from the Was report 2023, in which Was stands for waste strategy.
Waste management is not only an essential public service but also has the capacity to produce and distribute wealth, well-being and employment beyond its own boundaries, the report underlines. And, in a broad view, this also encompasses social, environmental, health and safety impacts. This is, in fact, the definition of the concept of shared value, conceived at Harvard and developed in Italy by the Shared value institute promoted by Althesys, the independent company specialising in economic research and strategic consultancy in the environment, energy, infrastructure and utilities sectors that produced the Was report 2023.
The report has calculated that the value chain of the waste management sector encompasses 9.1 billion euros in direct knock-on effects, deriving from the added value and fiscal contribution of companies in the sector; 8.45 billion euros in indirect knock-on effects, meaning the value created by suppliers; and 9.6 billion euros in induced knock-on effects, thanks to the leverage effect on the industrial system produced by the recovery of secondary raw materials and energy. The ratio between the added value of the waste management sector and the shared value created for the entire economic system is approximately 3.4. This means that for every euro of added value produced by waste management companies, 3.4 euros in knock-on benefits are generated for the whole country.
The report also dwells on special waste, generated by productive activities that contain a high concentration of polluting substances and which, for this reason, must be treated to be rendered harmless: a segment that is taking on an increasingly important role in companies' strategies. Companies specialising in the collection and treatment of special waste recorded an aggregate production value of 3.86 billion euros, an increase of 8 per cent compared with the previous year.
Above all, technological innovation is driving the evolution of the sector, opening up new opportunities for collaboration between the waste and energy sectors that also point towards transition and decarbonisation.
For example, the production of biomethane from agri-food waste and the chemical recycling of mixed plastic waste are being developed. The sector is also exploring new technologies for the recovery of carbon fibres, the production of hydrogen from waste, and the development of Waste to fuel technologies, which are based on the reuse of waste raw materials (biomass) that are not taken away from the food and agricultural supply chain, in order to produce fuels.
The report also highlights the importance of projects funded by the Piano nazionale di ripresa e resilienza (Pnrr) in the waste sector, while noting that the allocation of resources to public bodies has slowed the progress of projects. Furthermore, obstacles have emerged such as the so-called Nimby (not in my backyard) phenomenon, with protests and controversies over the siting of disposal facilities, both in the north and in the south. The main infrastructures, in terms of capacity, are those for the treatment of municipal waste and Forsu (the organic fraction of municipal solid waste) compared with those for the management of sludge, textile waste and personal absorbent materials. In the organic waste segment, however, it is estimated that only three regions, primarily in central and southern Italy, will still have a capacity deficit in organic waste collection by 2025, of around 60,000 tonnes each, against a surplus of almost two million tonnes in northern Italy.
