In 2019, together with Cooperativa Sociale Alchimia, the Municipality of Bergamo, the Municipality of Orio al Serio, Cooperativa Sociale Ecosviluppo and the Legambiente Association, we joined the “Plastic challenge: sfida alle plastiche monouso” (Plastic Challenge; the fight against disposable plastics) initiative organised by the CARIPLO Foundation”, presenting the project “Sfida alle plastiche. Riduzione, riciclo, riuso: pratiche sostenibili per Bergamo e il suo Aeroporto” (Plastic Challenge. Reduce, recycle, reuse: sustainable practices for Bergamo and its airport). An initiative that aims to reduce and rationalise the consumption of disposable plastic related to tourism in light of a true tourist process chain.
The emergency situation that emerged in the months that followed inevitably affected the project, leading to a considerable slowing down of the process, but did not lead to it being definitively cancelled.
The initiative at the airport officially kicked off last summer when the first MangiaPlastica (Plastic Eater) was installed in the security controls area; this is a plastic bottle compacting machine that empties out residual liquid, retaining the empty container and thus allowing the recovery of material that would otherwise be considered not suitable for sorting.
In the period that followed installation, i.e., in December 2021 and March 2022, more Plastic Eaters were installed inside the terminal; the location of the machines in strategic areas of the airport has helped to decrease the number of bottles thrown into unsorted waste, significantly increasing the collection of plastic for recovery.
The installation of the “MangiaPlastica” compactors, coupled with the implementation of organic waste collection, which also began in 2021, contributed significantly to both a decrease in volume of unsorted MSW and an increase in plastic collection. In particular, a comparison of average figures from the second half of 2021 with those from 2019 shows a decrease of about 26% in the quantities of MSW produced per passenger transported, as well as a 162% increase in the quantities of plastic collected.
This project is part of a series of initiatives launched by BGY International Services S.r.l (our subsidiary and main airport handling agent) in recent years to raise awareness and involve internal staff in a process to eliminate plastic bottles, so as to make Milan Bergamo Airport an increasingly plastic-free airport.