The phenomenon of the abnormal spread of disposable plastic objects and packaging (unfortunately aggravated by the Covid-19 pandemic), the serious environmental impact deriving from their uncontrolled abandonment in the environment and the actions that can be taken to combat the phenomenon, have long been at the center of the dialogue between stakeholders. Fortunately, concrete signs of greater awareness of the problem and willingness to tackle this real challenge to the "civilization" of throwaways are beginning to emerge. The Cariplo Foundation, which for almost 30 years has been involved in supporting, promoting and innovating projects of social utility linked to art and culture, the environment, social and scientific research, has recently decided to financially support thirteen projects, allocating 950 thousand euros. The projects supported by the Cariplo Foundation "have the merit of identifying effective solutions aimed at reducing single-use plastic waste in local communities by modifying sales, purchase and consumption behavior". To achieve this, a "gentle push", the so-called "nudge", will be adopted, which is inspired by the principles of behavioral economics: through small changes, for example in the positioning of products or in the information provided to consumers, we want to facilitate choices of more environmentally conscious and sustainable consumption. For example, among the awarded projects, we cite that of the Buena Vista Cooperative which proposed the initiative "CO.CO.CO, containers for conscious consumption": to reduce the use of plastic packaging, the use of of glass containers for home delivery of food and a rewarding system for good practices, according to the logic of gamification.
Sources: