Waste spending grows, in 2024 an average of EUR 329 per family: Catania will have the most expensive Tari (local taxes)

The cost of waste is rising, with the average cost this year reaching 329 euro, 2.6% more than the previous year, with peaks touching 600 euro in some southern cities and the lowest below 200 in several northern towns. However, the rate of differentiated waste collection is also growing, with an average of over 65%, although here too the situation varies greatly from city to city. This is the snapshot taken by the 2024 Report of Cittadinanzattiva's Price and Tariff Observatory, which looked at the Tari (road tax) applied by Italy's provincial capitals in 2024 and took as a reference a family of three people in a 100 square metre house.

In detail, Catania is the provincial capital where people pay the most: 594 euros per year, unchanged from 2023. Trento, on the other hand, is the one where people pay the least: 183 euros, slightly less than in 2023. Benevento, Latina, Messina and Salerno have dropped out of the top ten most expensive provinces, while Andria, Cagliari, Pistoia and Trapani have entered. From the top ten least expensive cities, Bolzano leaves and Siena enters. In fact, the South spends more and differs less.

Trentino Alto Adige is the cheapest region (203 euro), while Puglia is the most expensive: the average rate is 426.50 euro, an increase of more than 4% over the previous year. At the regional level, in addition to Trentino Alto Adige, which is characterised by the lowest expenditure and a high percentage of separate waste collection, Lombardy, Emilia Romagna, Veneto and Marche stand out in a positive light, where a Tari (local tax) rate well below the national average is associated with the highest levels of separate waste collection.

"The data in our Report highlight the main criticalities of the waste management system, such as the lack of an adequate network of collection and treatment facilities, the persistent recourse to landfill disposal, and the unsatisfactory levels of waste sorting and resource recovery," explains Tiziana Toto, Cittadinanzattiva's National Consumer Policy Manager. "Thinking only about recycling, an aspect on which our country has achieved excellent performance in several waste categories, is no longer enough. It is necessary to work to reduce waste production, starting with those product sectors for which separate waste collection does not reach the required targets," primarily electronic and textile waste.