Although Amiu and the municipal administration are collaborating to make Bari a virtuous and modern city from the point of view of environmental practices, the numbers speak for themselves. The capital is still behind on the collection differentiated and the “door to door” does not work or rather it works very little: in fact the percentage of delivery to the Municipality has dropped.
INSIGHTS
The city, therefore, still has a long way to go from the point of view of urban hygiene which therefore continues to be a weak point of the territory, a flaw. A situation that the mayor only a few days ago defined as “intolerable”. Among other things, the mayor himself had expressed the need to profoundly rethink the collection system, in particular of glass and paper and cardboard.
The numbers
Going into the merits, according to the data published on the dedicated regional portal, the average separate waste collection in Bari in June is equal to 45.38%. A figure that, although slightly increased compared to the 45.12% of May, continues to be among the lowest of the entire current year. Since the beginning of 2024, the percentages in the months have been similar to each other (they are respectively equal to 45.82% in January, 47.98% in February, 47.55% in March and 47.25% in April). In total, in the semester, a percentage of 46.47% was reached.
However, it is slightly better than the data from June 2023 when the figure was 42.97%. Last year, a peak was recorded in February equal to 49.16%, never reached again during the whole year, much less in 2024. Nothing unexpected, however. On the waste collection front in Bari, despite the many new inputs and objectives set by the administration, the change of pace is still not perceived.
These are data that show, among other things, how the city is still far from the percentage of 65% that is the objective to be achieved by 2035 according to the requests of the European Union. Let us remember, from this point of view, that it is necessary to work to obtain an ever-increasing quantity of differentiated waste, according to the scheme foreseen by the EU according to which the objectives for the recycling of urban waste speak of reaching 55% of differentiated collection by 2025. Objective that must reach 60% by 2030 and 65% by 2035.
The percentages
Taking a closer look at the available data, we can see, as previously mentioned, that the largest amount of waste was produced in January when the total was 15,629,138 kilos (of which 7,161,028 kilos were separated).
Immediately after comes the month of March when 13,648,641 kilos of MSW (solid urban waste) were produced and 6,489,581 kilos were separated; followed by the month of April with 13,390,479 kilos of MSW with 6,327,669 kilos separated; and the month of February in which 12,589,664 kilos of MSW were produced and 6,040,174 kilos were separated. In total in the first four months of 2024, MSW production reached 55,257,922 kilos, of which 26,018,452 kilos were separated and 29,239,470 kilos were undifferentiated, which in terms of percentages correspond to 47.02% of separated collection and 52.91% of undifferentiated. In June, 13,648,641 kilos of MSW (municipal solid waste) were produced and 6,489,581 kilos were separated, 13,683,158 kilos.
From this point of view, it is interesting to note how, compared to 2023, a smaller quantity of waste was produced, considering that the total MSW of the first four months of 2023 was equal to 58,688,794 kilos. The data relating to the trend of per capita waste production (percentage compared to the kilos produced in the month) in the city of Bari say that in the month of January we are at 49.93% of differentiated waste, in February at 40.22%, in March at 43.61% and finally in April at 42.78%.
In the same months of 2023, the data, in the same months, spoke of 47.1%, 43.24%, 52.61% and 44.55%. It is striking to note, in the detail of the waste produced and sent for recovery or disposal, that in the month of January over half of the waste produced is what is defined as “mixed urban waste (as is) and residues from cleaning streets and public land”, a good 8,468,110 kilos (destined for disposal).