“Plastop” for plastic bottle-free schools
The “Plastop” project by the University of Bologna community aims to limit the use of disposable plastic, specifically plastic bottles. The university started the project in 2018 by implementing various strategies including:
- the production of reusable metal water bottles that were distributed free of charge to students and administrative and teaching staff;
- the installation of natural and sparkling water dispensers at a controlled price; and
- infographics that convey sustainability messages through stickers to be placed in strategic locations in schools and universities.
In Rome, the Roma Tre University distributed 30,000 steel water bottles for free, with the initiative “The message is the bottle”. Moreover, the regional council of Lazio has allocated EUR 500,000 to finance other initiatives aimed at combatting the use of single-use plastic. A call for tenders will be published to support the purchase of eco-compactors to recover and recycle materials, and the launch of projects for the progressive elimination of containers and other disposable plastic products in all school locations.
The municipality of Padova, adhering to the “Plastic Free Challenge” campaign launched by the Ministry of the Environment is working to reduce the use of disposable plastics from all primary and middle schools by giving all students a water bottle.
The University of Catania has set itself the goal of distributing 2,500 water bottles to university staff and 9,000 to students. It plans to install 60 natural and sparkling water supply points, including a water house.
Following the “Milano Plastic Free” initiative launched by the mayor, the municipality of Milano distributed 100,000 reusable bottles, 40,000 of which were destined for middle school children and 60,000 for elementary school children.
The municipality of Brescia, A2a and Unibs started an initiative that foresees the distribution of 7,500 aluminium water bottles in 29 middle schools in 2020, while 17,000 will be distributed students at the University of Brescia.
Nearly 2,600 reusable bottles were distributed in the municipality of Florence. This is an important element of the plan that Publiacqua, in collaboration with the municipality of Florence and the other municipal administrations, has put in place to bring tap water to schools.
On the initiative of the Amalfi Coast Tourist District, 5,000 Tritan water bottles were purchased and distributed to the students of the Amalfi Coast schools. Tritan is a last-generation plastic polymer that does not contain chemical or toxic substances, and that is resistant to large temperature changes. For this reason, it is dishwasher safe and can be reused without fears over hygiene. According to data released by the Tourist District, the use of a water bottle of this kind reduces carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere, with each Tritan bottle saving the emission of around 80 g of CO2.