Less trash, more trees: in Padua, residents are taking care of it. And recycling is soaring (photos)

More trees, less trash. More greenery, less waste ending up in the wrong place. The project “Operation More Trees” In Padua, it's highly innovative for the waste it reduces and the opportunities it creates, from improved waste disposal to increased green space in the city. All of this is achieved through collaboration between institutions (the municipal administration, the university, and the company responsible for local services).

The mechanism is very simple and effective: each city resident, using a card, can accumulate three correct waste disposals over the course of a year at Padua's four collection centers. A reward is then issued, not for the individual Padua resident, but for the entire city: a tree is planted in one of the green areas of the Venetian city.

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SUSTAINABLE PADUA

Launched on the occasion of National Forest Day, the initiative was immediately a great success, welcomed with enthusiasm by the citizens of Padua. To date, there have already been approximately 700 cards collected, corresponding to 700 new trees, to be planted in the less green areas of the city, which require an urban reforestation operation, those of Mortise and Chiesanuova Overpass. 

Participating in the collective reforestation project isn't difficult: if you properly dispose of your waste at the designated collection points, you can earn points like a real point collection. The gift you receive after completing the form, however, isn't a product or appliance, but a tree for the city—green lungs that improve the living conditions of everyone. 

The people of Padua, on the other hand, have proven to be sensitive to the issue, and since Operation More Trees was launched they have recorded increased deliveries to the ecological islands 54% compared to the same period in 2018. 

A clear testament to the citizens' desire to make Padua more sustainable and green. 

OPERATION MORE TREES PADOVA

The Più Alberi project was born in the wake of the broader urban reforestation program “Padua O2”, which arises from the interest of the Green, Parks and Urban Agriculture Sector of the Municipality of Padua, and it certainly serves a dual purpose: contributing to the growth of new green spaces that serve as the city's lungs, and improving the disposal and collection of so-called "special" waste—that is, waste that cannot be disposed of in ordinary recycling bins or even in street bins for unsorted waste. This waste, in other words, requires different management and collection, and contains materials that are extremely polluting and harmful to the environment. 

URBAN REFORESTATION IN PADUA

The trees "won" by the citizens will be fundamental in improving the living conditions in the area because Greenery is capable of purifying the air, represents a natural barrier to noise and guarantees correct flow of rainwater onto the groundBy joining the project, therefore, the people of Padua will be able to combine environmental awareness, the protection and improvement of the local area, and high-quality waste sorting. 

(Featured image and photos accompanying the text taken from the portal Padua Today(photo credits Padova Oggi)

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