The demand is clear: no to the mega-incinerator in Castiraga Vidardo, in the province of Lodi. The facility already exists, but currently has a capacity of "only" 35,000 tonnes per year — a figure set to rise to 154,000, with the inclusion of special and hazardous industrial waste. The community of the Lodi area, home to the incinerator Ecowatt, managed by Italyum, already mobilised last Saturday, 25 January, with a demonstration that brought more than a thousand opponents of the expansion project onto the streets. The expansion would make Ecowatt the third-largest incinerator in Lombardia — without taking into account, as highlighted by the Municipality of Castiraga Vidardo and the Comitato Ambiente Vidardo, a whole range of concerns for public health and quality of life. Chief among these is the fact that, even today, the incinerator stands just 300 metres from residential buildings in the town centre.

The mobilisation against the incinerator

Joining the 25 January demonstration alongside local residents were environmental organisations such as Legambiente and WWF, as well as institutional representatives, including the President of the Province of Lodi, Fabrizio Santantonio, and the mayors of Castiraga Vidardo, Emma Perfetti, and Sant'Angelo Lodigiano, Cristiano Devecchi. Leading the mobilisation against the expansion of Ecowatt, alongside the Municipality of Castiraga Vidardo, is the Comitato Ambiente Vidardo, whose president Sara Asti explains: "We are talking about a facility that stands right next to homes, schools and sports facilities, and we cannot ignore the risks associated with potential accidents, as already happened with the fire in July 2024. After months of work on the ground, the Committee, together with the Provincial Coordination, has turned concern into action, overcoming the widespread distrust towards institutions. The demonstration attracted an extraordinary turnout — not only in person, but also online, reaching thousands of people through social media."

A project challenged on the basis of data

The President of the Committee underlined how the expansion of the incinerator lacks any genuine collective purpose, citing scientific data from institutional bodies such as Ispra and Arpa Lombardia: "The waste-to-energy plants in the region already process 50–55 per cent of municipal waste and 60–70 per cent of special waste at national level. This project serves only private profit motives." The citizens' demands also have the backing of local institutions, including that of the President of the Province, Fabrizio Santantonio: "It is unacceptable to site a facility of this kind — one that burns everything — just 200 metres from people's homes. Not in 2025."

The demonstrators, united under the No Inceneritore coordination, called on the Province of Lodi for a meeting to present and coordinate popular mobilisation initiatives, and to put forward three names of qualified and authoritative technical experts to lead a public inquiry — as provided for by law — aimed at regulating public participation and providing governments with well-founded reasoning on which to base decisions concerning complex industrial installations with significant environmental impacts.