(Marco Sperandio) It is established that the lack of medium-long term planning by the institutions is the first real cause of the eco-mafia infiltration in the waste management stream in Italy.
Only through an operative synergy between Regions and Municipalities, businesses, and the population of each territory, in fact, a territorial management system can be reached that can absorb the demand that every area of the Country generates, reducing costs and above all the environmental impacts . Then, trying to minimize the voids of this system, the delinquent organizations do not have room for maneuver and therefore they are prevented from operating.
The Italian one, from this point of view, is a rather worrying situation. The data set out in the 2018 Ecomafia Report (published by Edizioni Ambiente) of Legambiente tell us that last year 538 precautionary custody orders were issued for environmental crimes, with a growth of 139,5% compared to 2016. It also grew by 9,4% the turnover of these organizations, reaching a figure that is around 14 billion euros.
"We have made great strides in combating environmental crimes thanks to the new legislation that introduced eco-crimes into the criminal code, but other urgent interventions are also needed to give concrete answers to the country's problems" said Stefano Ciafani, president of Legambiente, demonstrating how countermeasures cannot be sought only at the regulatory level, but must necessarily undergo a change from an operational and management point of view.
The surge in infringements reported in the waste management flow amounts to 28% more than the 2016.
The types of waste most managed by eco-mafia include industrial sludge, fume dust, WEEE (waste electrical and electronic equipment), plastics, metal waste, paper and cardboard, often the result of irregular construction sites, non-standard remediation and illegal transport.
And in this case we leave out the whole discussion on the disposal of the same, which naturally occurs in an irregular manner and constitutes an incalculable damage to the territories and the health of those who live there. “The deep nature of environmental crime is economic and has businesses and fixers as its main protagonists, but the mafias continue to play a crucial role, often as a glue,” the association's analysts added in the report.
There is therefore a need to implement targeted and far-sighted programming in each territory, capable of coordinating the activities of all those companies that operate in transparency and in compliance with the rules and the environment, so that the latter can derive the real advantages and allow those who live there to live a healthy life without all those consequences that illicit disposal generates.
Indeed, the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella himself stated that "the eco-sustainable tomorrow, with a full affirmation of legality, is a great civil enterprise, certainly within our reach, which requires a cultural commitment no less than the work of prevention and repression of crimes, which the police forces, the judiciary and all institutions are called upon to carry out every day with dedication. My hope is that the Ecomafia Report will contribute to the growth of positive energies and commitment, above all among young people, whose sensitivity towards environmental issues - and therefore their future - is highly developed ”.