Italy garbage dips with virus lockdowns, but plastics rise

Rome

Italy produced 10% less garbage during its coronavirus lockdown, but environmentalists warn that increased reliance on disposable masks and packaging is imperiling efforts to curb single-use plastics that end up in oceans and seas.

Italian researchers estimate that during the peak months of Italy’s lockdown in March and April, urban waste production fell by 500,000 tons. That decrease is enabling dumps in Italy, where trash collection in major cities has often become a hot-button political issue, to absorb the 300,000 tons of extra waste from protective masks and gloves estimated to be used this year, according to the Italian Institute for

Environmental Protection and Research.

“Substantially, the figures will balance each other by the end of this year,” Valeria Frittelloni, the institute’s head of waste management and circular economy, The Associated Press (AP) reported.