Circular Economy, the 13 projects funded by Fondazione con il Sud

Between Reggio Calabria, Lamezia Terme and Bagnara Calabra, theProject Gira teatro - Azioni di economia di condivisione nell'ambito del teatro amatoriale is being carried out. Its objective is to reduce waste in the theatrical field in Calabria through the activation of a platform for sharing props, creating a network of Calabrian theatre companies based on a system of exchange of theatrical objects and scenic materials, supported by the creation of a dedicated web platform.

In Salerno there is The toy circle project that aims to reuse, repair and transform used toys into accessible ones through the activation of workshops in the province of Salerno. "The project," say Fondazione con il Sud, "intends to encourage the collection and sorting of used toys, partly to recover them and put them back on the market and partly to transform them into 'accessible' toys.

In Sicily, on the other hand, there is theproject Agricircolare - circular economy for agriculture with the objective of 'Valorising agrifood waste, organic waste and sludge in Ragalna'. Still in the waste transformation sphere, there is in Catanzaro the project 'Fertile waste: the waste that becomes precious' with the objective of 'Transforming the organic waste produced by Catanzaro shops and companies into resources for sustainable and inclusive agriculture through the start-up of a social enterprise branch and the involvement of 5 disadvantaged persons'.

The 'EcCiCoCo! (Cooperating Community Circular Ecosystems)' will take place in Pantelleria and envisages the valorisation of about 250 tonnes per year of waste from the olive-growing chain (olive pomace, leaves, pruning branches), which is currently disposed of almost entirely outside the island. The olive pomace will be turned into compost, reducing the use of chemical fertilisers, and the stones into pellets; both will be sold to local farmers and households for domestic use. In Bari, the SoapOpera project aims to 'valorise used cooking oil by transforming it into laundry soap through the development of a social enterprise and the involvement of 10 women victims of violence reported by the CAVs of the province of Bari'. The objective of transforming organic waste into compost for agricultural production is the Futura circolare project of Capraica in Lecce.

In Palermo, the Zero Waste, One Thousand Meals project aims to reduce food waste through the preparation of meals and packaged products obtained by recovering surplus food (unsold or non-compliant products) to be given to fragile people.

In Naples, the Woody project 'intends to produce and market wood products by reusing wood material from the nature reserve by strengthening a partner social carpentry workshop in the historic centre of Naples'.

"Fondazione con il Sud confirms its commitment to protecting the environment and combating climate change," comments Stefano Consiglio, president of Fondazione con il Sud. "After the previous calls for proposals dedicated to promoting sustainable mobility, waste reduction and supporting the creation of energy and social communities, which made it possible to fund more than 40 projects for the ecological transition in the South, we believe it is important to intervene to promote and raise awareness of the crucial importance of the circular economy.