The Centre pays 60 euro more per capita per year than the North for waste management

Sixty euros separate the average annual per capita cost of urban waste management between the most virtuous North and the Centre of Italy where citizens incur the highest expenditure, while compared to the South this difference is reduced to around 40 euros. A gap that can obviously be attributed to the degree of efficiency of disposal systems around the peninsula, on which the recourse to waste exportation also weighs, which is a distinctive feature especially in the South (with Campania and Calabria in the lead).

Returning to expenditure, the lowest cost concerns, as mentioned, Northern Italy where the bar stands at 173.3 euro per inhabitant compared to 233.6 euro per capita in the Centre and 211.4 euro in the South. Among the cities with the highest expenditure are Venice with 411 euros/inhabitant (this municipality's separate collection stands at around 63%), Cagliari with 296.7 euros/inhabitant (76.8% collection rate), and Perugia with 291 euros/inhabitant (70.7% collection rate). The lowest costs were recorded for Campobasso, 166.8 euro/inhabitant, Trento, 170.9 euro/inhabitant, and Palermo with 185.3 euro/inhabitant. The capital Rome stands out for the highest bill, with a cost of 272.9 euro/inhabitant.

Ispra also calculated the annual average per capita at national level, which in 2023 was 197 euro per inhabitant (in 2022 it was slightly lower, 192.3 euro), an increase of 4.8 euro per inhabitant. Within this value, the report clarifies, several pieces are included, from collection and transport of differentiated fractions (Crd), 52.9 euro/inhabitant, treatment and disposal (Cts), 23.6 euro/inhabitant, collection and transport of undifferentiated municipal waste (Crt), 20 euros/inhabitant, treatment and recovery (Ctr), 24.2 euros/inhabitant, common costs (Cc), 26.5 euros/inhabitant, sweeping and washing costs (Csl), 24.5 euros/inhabitant, finally, capital use costs (Ck), 22.1 euros/inhabitant.

The export of waste also weighs on the collection costs: in 2023, Italy took 4.6% of the municipal waste produced, 1.4 million tonnes, out of its borders, compared to 319 thousand tonnes of imported waste. Campania, Lombardy and Calabria are the regions that export the most. But to which destinations? The Ispra report points to Denmark, the Netherlands, and Germany as the states that are most in demand in terms of urban waste destinations. Which, however, albeit to a small extent, are also imported: France is the country from which comes the largest amount of municipal waste, 101 thousand tonnes, corresponding to 31.7% of the total imported; followed by Switzerland with 27.4% and Germany with 17.1% of the total. The regions importing the largest quantities are Lombardy and Liguria. In a nutshell, this is 319 thousand tonnes of urban waste (+7.6% compared to 2022), of which more than 2 thousand tonnes are hazardous, mainly end-of-life equipment. But we also import glass (41.3%), metal (20.5%) and clothing (10.8%), while exported waste is made up of 39.7% from mechanical waste treatment and 27.4% from secondary solid fuel (Css).