Awareness campaigns, better economic forecasts and closer collaboration with Municipalities: tools for pursuing recycling objectives and packaging waste recovery. Over 7000 participating Municipalities, 77.5% packaging waste recovered, of which 67.6% recycled in 2013. These are the numbers that demonstrate the objectives reached by Conai over 15 years, the system that coordinates the activities of six Consortiums representing the materials used to produce packaging: This model bases its strength on the principle of “shared responsibility”, as it relies on the involvement of all the players in waste management: from the companies who produce and use packaging, to Public Administrations, which establish the laws governing waste management in the region, to citizens, whose daily actions when separating waste initiate a virtuous process for the environment, all the way to the recycling companies. The key factor for successfully reaching the recycling and recovery objectives set forth in the law is a five-year agreement 2014-2019 between the Association of Italian Municipalities (Anci) and Conai, which will be described over the course of Ecomondo, a trade fair dedicated to the environment to be held in Rimini from November 5 – 8. Walter Facciotto, the Director of Conai, described the highlights. “The new Anci-Conai Agreement has many qualifying points. From an economic standpoint, the negotiation brought about a comprehensive increase in payments of 17%. The increase guaranteed for the glass supply-chain was especially large at 20%, without prejudice to the fact that all the Consortiums in this sector increased their payments to the Municipalities.” In such a complex scenario it is natural that one could ask what kind of tools could help to reach the program objectives. “First of all,” said Facciotto, “we will support areas that are lagging behind, mainly in the central southern part of the country, starting up new development projects for separated waste collection, offering them support in designing the service and creating local informational campaigns for citizens.” Source: Corriere della Sera