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Italy is a world leader in recycling. It went from hardly recycling anything 30 years ago (less than 10% in 1997) to recycling over 60% of waste in 2020 (with only 20% going to the landfill).
The country does a couple of simple, no-brainer things that make it very easy for people to recycle their waste. I spent the summer in this great (and hot) country and spent some time jotting down what I saw. Most of these rules originate in the European Union, so the EU should also get a lot of the credit for such advanced recycling.
1. Every piece of packaging tells you how to recycle it
Every piece of plastic, paper or metal that you buy in Italy tells you how to recycle it. This started in 2023 in Italy and comes from a European directive. I find this simple and brilliant.
