Used cooking oil is not a waste to be dumped at sea, but a resource to be recycled. These simple words sum up the meaning of the awareness-raising campaign aimed at boaters, promoted by the Marevivo Onlus Association and the RenOils consortium as part of the “Save the Sea – recycle cooking oil” project, which the Northern Tyrrhenian Port Network Authority has firmly adhered to.
It is well known that getting rid of vegetable oil by flushing it down the sink or directly into the sea is highly polluting. One litre of oil can pollute an area of water of approximately 1,000 square metres.
Properly handled and collected oil can become a reusable product (production of biodiesel and bio-lubricants, in cogeneration plants, etc.); for every tonne of waste oil recycled, we cut 2.3 tonnes of CO 2 equivalent.
After adhering to the project, the Port Network Authority designated the first collection point for waste food produced by boaters in the port of Livorno. The site is located in the pedestrian area of the Andana degli Anelli in the Porto Mediceo, where all boaters in the vicinity transit, in a clearly visible position to discourage improper use and abandoning waste.
The waste collection facility is a 500-litre tank, which caters for a significant number of users without being visually detrimental to the area. Equipped with a special receptacle positioned on the ground to contain any accidental spillage, the facility will be supplied free of charge, installed and regularly emptied on a weekly basis by a company authorized by RenOils, which will arrange for the waste to be properly recuperated and recycled.
The inauguration of the facility is planned for the end of August.
“The collection and recycling of this waste is an important service provided to port users that fits in well with both the Authority’s institutional obligations and with the environmental policy principles that the Port Network Authority has adopted thanks to its environmental management system,” said President Guerrieri, who added: “We will soon extend the project to our other Network ports”
Translation by Giles Foster
