The European Week for Waste Reduction (EWWR) recently concluded its 2024 edition, highlighting the importance of environmental sustainability and waste reduction practices. This year, the central theme is food waste, an issue that was already addressed in 2014, but which is now recurring with increasing urgency. Every year, tonnes of food are thrown away, wasting precious resources and causing significant environmental and socio-economic impact.
The award ceremony for the Italian actions took place on 20 March in Rome. Five winners were selected in as many categories, each with a significant contribution to tackling the waste challenge and promoting more sustainable behaviour. Giulia Mazzanti of AICA, coordinator of the SERR organising secretariat at national level, introduced the event and presented the novelty of 2024 regarding the selection process of the finalists. Countries with a high number of actions like Italy, 5093 registered for this edition, will for the first time be able to nominate 10 actions in total for the European awards, twice as many as in previous editions. Thus, in addition to the 5 Italian winning actions, a further 5 ‘direct candidates’ were also announced for the European finals.
For the Enterprise category, the award went to “L’importanza di usare i propri sensi per ridurre lo spreco di cibo” (The importance of using your senses to reduce food waste) by Too Good To Go. The research investigated how Italians use their senses when assessing whether food products are still fit for consumption and the degree to which they know and understand product labels.
In the category of Public Administrations, the City of Turin received praise for “RE-TASTE TORINO Tutto il gusto del cibo circolare in città” (RE-TASTE TORINO All the taste of circular food in the city), a project in which topics such as organic waste management, food waste prevention and the household waste oil collection system were addressed
For the Citizens' category, the winning proposal was the one carried out by Trieste Senza Sprechi, “Riduci, Riusa… Rimescola!” (Reduce, Reuse... Remix!). This action included a talk on food waste issues with guest speakers and the active participation of society. The action also included the publication of an interactive map highlighting public or private entities in the municipality committed to combating food waste.
In the Schools category, Archè Impresa Sociale s.r.l. received the award for the “Rifiuti zero, creatività infinita” (Zero Waste, Infinite Creativity) project, which saw students engaged in the transformation of vegetable products from local markets and supermarkets, chosen from unsold produce, into tasty and nutritious dishes.
Finally, in the Associations category, ReFoodGees Aps was awarded for its “RecuperiAmo... la cultura del non spreco” (RecuperiAmo... la cultura del non spreco) project, which tackled the issue of food safety and the fight against waste. Specifically, a group of volunteers, partly made up of migrants and asylum seekers, recovered unsold fruit, vegetables and bread at the end of the day on the stalls of the Nuovo Mercato Esquilino, to redistribute them free of charge in convenient boxes to families selected on the basis of conditions of marginality (economic, social, physical of various kinds).
The direct candidate actions for European awards are as follows:
- “Il valore dell’organico” (The value of organic waste) by Annalisa Bencivenga and Domenico Lavermicocca among citizens;
- “No Food Waste!” by Sapienza University of Rome among public administrations;
- “RecuperiAmo. Non alimentiamo lo spreco” (RecuperiAmo. Do not feed the waste) by Fondazione Comunità Solidale Onlus among associations;
- “Il resto in bocca. Dal passato al presente, passando per i palati del MONDO” (Il resto in bocca. From past to present, passing through the palates of the WORLD) by I.C. “Lombardo Radice” among schools;
- “Il gruppo HERA per la SERR” (HERA group for EWWR) by HERA Spa among businesses.
The award-winning initiatives represent an example of the vast panorama of projects presented this year that have actively contributed to raising awareness on the issue of food waste. All 10 actions will compete in the European award ceremonies, organised for 12 June 2025 in Leeuwarden (Netherlands).