Keep the planet clean: cleaning the planet starting from prison. Recovering talent.

Keeping the planet clean starts from prison, because concern for environmental issues has no bars. From this awareness was born Keep the planet clean, a waste-sorting and zero-waste project within the Bollate Prison, a penitentiary that has always been at the forefront of inmate reintegration and internal activities. 

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KEEP THE PLANET CLEAN

For this reason, when, in 2015, Fernando Gomez and Matteo Gorelli, prisoners with a particular ecological sensitivity, have presented an evaluation report on food waste in the facility, the prison management immediately followed up on the two boys' request to start recycling in every area.

The report was created by recording the per capita amount of waste, cell by cell, by weighing it with a rudimentary kitchen scale. A full 4000 kilos of bread are thrown into the trash each month by all inmates at Bollate prison. But, after the proposal was accepted and a trial period, separate waste collection was extended to the entire prison. November 2017. 

From that project, a far-sighted association was born within the same facility, starting from what is perceived as the lowest level of society—prisons and detention facilities—but aiming to offer a concrete opportunity for redemption and activism, which could even be exported to other penitentiary settings. 

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KEEP THE PLANET CLEAN PRISON BOLLATE

The leaders of the working group, Gorelli and Gomes, said this in an interview with the online newspaper. InTerris.it, first explaining the choice of the association's slogan, "recovering talent starting from waste." "We started together with a project, an idea, and now we have a team of almost 30 people. We've even managed to get a headquarters. They say it's through the wonder and unexpectedness of certain things that one learns in life. We start from the premise that nothing should be wasted in the environment, everything can be recovered," explained Matteo Gorelli, who heads the Association together with Fernando Gomez. "If we start from this, it's because we have a history of crimes behind us, which leads us to want to redeem ourselves. Drawing a parallel between ourselves and the people who are somehow considered almost social outcasts, we want to redeem ourselves in these terms. We too can be resources for others," he continued, "especially because we're doing incredibly important work, which leads us to encounter others in a different way and perhaps even to engage with one another to see that we're part of an environment that must be protected."

Matteo Gorelli currently manages the association with his colleague Gomez, patiently building a network of collaborations and partnerships with other nonprofits, associations, and organizations that champion environmental advocacy. He learned a great deal from his experience in prison and even graduated from Bicocca University with a thesis on talent development and recovery. The first issue of the bimonthly magazine was published in March 2019. Riciclami, a prison newspaper that discusses green issues and sustainability., completely self-produced. 

(Featured images and accompanying text are from the Interris.it newspaper //Photo credits: Interris.it)

The Keep The Planet Clean Association is competing for the 2020 edition of the Non Sprecare 2020 Award. To submit your projects, follow the instructions provided here. 

DON'T WASTE AWARD 2020 EDITION:

• Autism-friendly supermarkets: the first in Italy is in Monza. Free from distracting lights and loud noises.
• See you at the café, the virtual square that unites Alzheimer's patients. To challenge loneliness.
• Suspended Meal: A wonderful initiative in Rome donates meals to those who can't prepare them.