Green municipal tax incentives
The municipality of Capannori (Lucca) is promoting an initiative to ensure that inhabitants are increasingly able to purchase packaging-free products such as food, beverages and detergents, thus reducing the amount of plastic waste produced.
By adopting a change to the waste regulations in part of the Lucca area, the municipal administration introduced a 20% discount on the fixed part of the waste tax for all businesses that sell food and other products without packaging. This implies significant savings for the shops that join fight against packaging, regardless of how much waste they produce, which is already rewarded by production-based taxation.
Shops that want to take advantage of the discount must show the municipality that they have introduced packaging-free products in their shops.
In the municipality of Legnago (Verona), the “Save-Environment” initiative, approved in March 2019, led to changes to the waste tax regulation (Tari). A partial reimbursement of the garbage tax was introduced for companies participating in the “Buy Recycling” project.
The initiative has allowed the placement of three “eco-compactors” where citizens can bring used plastic bottles and receive “ecopoints” in return. The ecopoints can be used in any shop or participating activity for a discount on purchases or services. The reimbursement of EUR 100 on the Tari introduced by the initiative is aimed at the business owners who will offer such “eco-discounts”. Overall, the project helps businesses improve customer retention, while at the same time encouraging greater attention to waste.
In December 2017, the municipal council in Talamone (Grosseto) introduced the possibility of obtaining a 30% to 70% reduction of the variable part of the waste tax. This reduction applies to neighbourhood shops of a maximum 150 square metres in size that sell refill products, as well as to shops that offer loose products or an empties return policy.
Those who sell only refill products are entitled to a discount of 70%, while those offering refills alongside a more traditional model will benefit from a 30% tax reduction.
