Grosseto, “River cleaner” is the new plant for the collection of floating waste on the San Rocco canal.
The mission of the Municipality of Grosseto is to defend the coast and the sea from pollution and the resulting inconveniences, in line with environmental policies implemented in recent years on the coast regarding separate waste collection. An automated system will take care of the collection of waste floating on the San Rocco emissary, waste which will then be directed to the relevant disposal channel, with total respect for the environment.
The project was carried out by the Councilor for the Environment Simona Petrucci, in response to the needs of the territory: "It is essential - explain the Mayor Antonfrancesco Vivarelli Colonna and the Councilor for the Environment Simona Petrucci - to offer a concrete and effective solution for tackle marine plastic pollution so that waste, once in the water, is not gradually degraded, producing microplastics and - consequently - obstructing the flow of water. Thus, in fact, the material, in addition to polluting, can also create further inconveniences in the area that are difficult to manage. Let's think for example of the Canal Port of Marina, which is located right at the mouth of the San Rocco canal and which could suffer consequences, as well as all the sea operators located in Marina, in the area of the outlet to the sea. It was necessary to act as soon as possible on prevention and this we did, involving more subjects." The machinery - automated and the subject of the memorandum of understanding - is called the River Cleaner of the Blue Eco Line and allows the phenomenon of waste dispersion into the sea to be controlled, offering safety guarantees. “It also allows – continue Vivarelli Colonna and Petrucci – to integrate waste management by directing it into the regular disposal process”.
Blue Eco Line is one of the three startups winners of the Estra Prize "E-qube Startup & idea Challenge" which also included support for business development with a 16-week acceleration program. In addition to the Municipality of Grosseto, signatory to the Memorandum of Understanding, the Reclamation Consortium, which will take care of the arrangement of the bank areas in order to facilitate waste collection, has also given the green light - as stated in the council resolution. , Estra, which will contribute to the financing of the project, the Tuscany Region, which will prepare a monitoring and maintenance plan for the work. And again: Sei Toscana, which will transport the recovered material to the plants, and Ecolat sr, the company controlled by the Estra Group, which will instead manage the waste collected in collaboration with the other partners.
"Supporting this project for us was an action consistent with what has always been the activity carried out with conviction by our group. – say Antonio Azzarello and Guido Rustichini, respectively commercial and innovation director of Estra and President of Ecolat – Our desire is to give concrete continuity to all those projects that we reward as winning start-ups and which deserve effective support for their full realization. The green component of Blue Eco Line demonstrates our closeness to the territory and to fundamental issues such as respect for nature and environmental sustainability".
“I would like to thank – said Eng. Lorenzo Lubrano of Blue Eco Line, who developed the project - all the partners of this adventure (the Municipality, the Region, Estra, Ecolat, the Reclamation Consortium, Sei Toscana) for their availability. Often the dialogue with the administrations proves problematic but not in this case, having managed to bring the system from the dimension of paper to that of reality".
The first step has been taken, with the preparation of the Memorandum of Understanding. Now all the details of the agreement will be defined and the Grosseto area will soon be able to count on a new technological and efficient service to protect the San Rocco canal, the sea and the coastal structures.
The General Director of the Reclamation Consortium Fabio Zappalorti, Angelo Gentili of the national secretariat of Legambiente and the technical director of Sei Toscana Giuseppe Tabani also participated in the press conference to present the project, expressing their satisfaction.
Reproduction reserved © Copyright La Milano
