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Sustainability initiatives in Florence

Find community gardens, compost programs, repair cafés, and neighborhood cleanup events in Florence — local environmental initiatives you can join.

In Florence, neighbours are already working on Community, including «Capannori: one of Europe's first certified Zero Waste cities». Start something similar this week, or join an initiative already planned.

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Capannori: one of Europe's first certified Zero Waste cities

The pioneer that showed it could be done Capannori, a municipality of about 45,000 people near Lucca in Tuscany, is one of Europe's first cities to achieve Zero Waste certification. It set out decades ago to prove that a community could dramatically reduce the waste it sends to landfill and incineration: not through technology fixes, but through source separation, reuse, and community involvement. What Capannori built - Door-to-door separate collection as the default for every household - A Zero Waste Research Centre (Centro Capannori Rifiuti Zero) studying product design flaws and advocating for producer responsibility - Composting and textile collection integrated alongside paper, glass, metal, and plastics - Waste reduction targets embedded in municipal planning Why it matters Capannori's model is not a product of wealth or special geography. It is a replicable template: start with ambitious separate collection targets, involve residents early, and redirect waste budget away from disposal toward prevention. The ZWE-certified result inspired dozens of Italian municipalities to follow. How to engage - Visit or contact Zero Waste Italy to learn how Capannori's model can be adapted for your municipality - Follow Capannori's zero waste research centre for publications and advocacy tools
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Livorno incinerator closure: community mobilisation wins

How Livorno permanently closed its local incinerator In 2024, Zero Waste Italy helped mobilise the community of Livorno, a port city on the Tuscan coast, to secure the permanent closure of its local incinerator. The campaign combined technical advocacy: showing that alternatives existed: with community organising to build broad public and political pressure. What happened - ZWI supported local residents and civil society groups in building the case against continued incineration - Community pressure alongside technical evidence persuaded decision-makers to close the facility permanently - Livorno joins a growing list of Italian cities phasing out waste incineration in favour of source separation and reuse Why it matters The Livorno closure shows that communities do not have to accept incineration as the default. With the right information and organised residents, the economics and politics of waste can be shifted. ZWI's experience here is now a template for similar campaigns elsewhere in Italy. What you can do - If your city has a waste-to-energy facility under review, contact Zero Waste Italy for advocacy support and technical materials - Attend public consultations on local waste management plans and raise the zero-waste alternative
advocacyanti-incinerationcommunity-mobilisation
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Tuscany Zero Waste pilot: 51 municipalities mapping the path together

A regional network learning from each other Since early 2023, Zero Waste Italy has run a pilot programme with 51 Zero Waste municipalities across Tuscany, supporting them to share knowledge, map obstacles, and strengthen the collective path toward Zero Waste certification. The pilot is designed to understand, at scale: what works and what holds municipalities back, so that ZWI can improve its support model for Italy's 340-city network. What the pilot does - Maps current separate collection rates, infrastructure gaps, and political barriers across all 51 municipalities - Facilitates peer learning between municipalities that are ahead and those still building momentum - Produces findings ZWI uses to improve national network support tools How to get involved - If you live in Tuscany, check whether your municipality is part of the pilot and attend any public open days or consultations on waste reduction targets - Contact Zero Waste Italy if your municipality wants to join the regional network Why it matters Supporting 340 municipalities individually is unsustainable. Regional cluster pilots like Tuscany's are how Italy's ZW movement scales its expertise: making every community in the network stronger.
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