From the fight against waste to raising awareness, out of 360 only 69 municipalities are "plastic free":where pollution is fought in Italy

The most virtuous municipalities are Termoli, Mogliano Veneto, Borgo Virgilio and Legnago.Many in Calabria and Veneto

From Bologna – Fight against illegal abandonment, management of urban waste, raising awareness of the territory, virtuous activities of the institution and collaboration with the non-profit organization Plastic Free.These are the 5 pillars that have been put to the test 360 Italian cities on the fight against plastic.But alone 69 they managed to overcome it.Awarded today, March 11th, at Bologna at Palazzo Re Enzo the plastic free municipalities are growing compared to 49 of the first edition. 32 of these they managed to reconfirm themselves again this year.«Every year we introduce new initiatives, so as to never make municipalities relax on the environmental fight.Anyone who hasn't been reconfirmed probably hasn't done the additional updating that would have allowed them to reach the award threshold", he explains to Open Luca De Gaetano, president of Plastic Free Onlus.The municipalities that have stood out for a greater environmental battle and effectiveness in the territory are Termoli (Campobasso), Mogliano Veneto (Treviso), Borgo Virgilio (Mantua) e Legnago (Verona).The award ceremony is given by Plastic Free Onlus, led by the president Luca De Gaetano, which has been promoting environmental sustainability since 2019.

Straws and bags:turtle diet

I am 3 million the kilos of plastic and other highly polluting waste that the association has had removed throughout Italy.AND 165 turtles saved from certain death in the last two and a half plus years 1000 those accompanied at birth.It is no coincidence that the prize for "plastic-free" municipalities is in the shape of turtle.The latter – explains De Gaetano – «has more 200 million years, has managed to overcome every difficulty, including the extinction of the dinosaurs.But today we see how it struggles to overcome man's neglect.An example is maritime traffic:often at the moment of refloating the turtle is hit by the propeller".But what is even more central – continues the president of Plastic Free – «is plastic pollution, invisible to the eyes of turtles, already short-sighted themselves, who mistake it for jellyfish or other food».

The numbers of plastic

According to recent data he reports Plastic Free, in our seas they are present at least 150 million of tons of plastic and 570 thousand tons end up in the Mediterranean waters every year causing the death of at least 40 thousand sea ​​turtles, most often poisoned or suffocated after ingesting straws, bags or other plastic fragments.Our country is third for plastic dispersion in the Mediterranean, after Türkiye And Spain with 60 plastic waste per square kilometer of sea.«The plastic free award enhances the civic commitment of citizens and municipalities», comments the mayor of Bologna Matteo Lepore from the stage of Palazzo Re Enzo.«Bologna has decided to be among the 100 cities in the European Union that want to aim to achieve carbon neutrality with the aim of reducing global warming.An impossible mission, but when impossible things become real they give hope", he comments.«Let's put aside the flags, the belongings, we are all children of the planet, of which we are guests», he adds Sergio Costa, vice president of the Chamber of Deputies and former environment minister who invited the non-profit organization Plastic Free to talk about the environment in Parliament.

The municipalities awarded Plastic Free