Tinned tuna, beer and soft drink caps, jar lids, sun creams and insect sprays: Italians' beach bags also contain steel packaging, and correct disposal is a good habit and a fundamental practice to be maintained even on holiday. Ricrea is once again launching its "Cuore Mediterraneo" itinerant campaign to raise awareness among swimmers and sailors of the many, often little-known properties of steel packaging and the rules for separate collection.
From packed lunches on the beach to food for the galleys of boats or camping trips, steel packaging is a real protagonist of summer days, and not only for its practicality: steel protects food perfectly from external agents, preserving taste, consistency and nutritional principles. These qualities are not affected by the recycling process, which in the case of steel is 100% and infinitely possible: this single material is therefore a great friend of the environment and the sea.
Alice, Ricrea's special envoy, will test the level of awareness among residents and tourists about the characteristics of steel and the arrangements for the separate collection of cans, tins, drums, jars, buckets, crown caps and closures in the various municipalities. This year's tour will stop at the Italian beaches, harbours and campsites of Lavagna (Genoa), Forte dei Marmi (Lucca), Tarquinia Lido (Viterbo), Pollica (Salerno) and Casal Velino (Salerno), Trani (Barletta-Andria-Trani), Termoli (Campobasso), the Tremiti Islands (Gargano) and Gabicce (Pesaro e Urbino).
"We believe that summer is a particularly good time to raise awareness and directly involve a large audience to ensure that the importance of separate waste collection is never forgotten. With Cuore Mediterraneo, we are targeting the inhabitants of Italy's main seaside resorts, but above all holidaymakers, so that they know how to dispose of steel packaging correctly and in accordance with the regulations of the various municipalities," explains Domenico Rinaldini, President of RICREA. With a recycling rate of 80.6% of steel packaging released for consumption, Italy is a European leader: these results, which already far exceed the target for 2025 (70%) and even the 80% set by the European Union for 2030, are certainly encouraging for us, but with everyone's commitment we can continue to improve".
Thanks to the synergy between municipalities, citizens and operators, the per capita collection of steel packaging in Italy reached 4.4 kg per inhabitant in 2022. In total, 418,091 tonnes were sent for recycling (+7.2% compared to the previous year), enough to build 4 cruise ships.
