Several mayors from Europe attended the Urban Waste conference, which addressed the issues of waste collection and management.
Those from Nicosia, the Canary Islands, Lisbon, and other cities were present at Villa Masséna.
Mr. Pierre-Paul Léonelli, Deputy Delegate for Proximity, Cleanliness, Collection, Defence of Quality of Life, Metropolitan Councillor, and Regional Councillor, presided over the proceedings.
Urban Waste is a European project that brings together all the key stakeholders in waste management and tourism. Its aim: to develop and promote eco-innovative prevention strategies.
This project was selected by the European Commission as part of the call for proposals “Waste: ‘a resource for reuse, recycling, recovery of raw materials’”.
A project funded under the European research and innovation program, Horizon 2020.
The main goal of Urban Waste is to promote responsible and sustainable waste management in cities under heavy tourist pressure.
As part of the Urban Waste conference, a Commitment Charter was signed by the mayors of the project’s Partner Cities.
Nice, the second-most visited city in France after Paris, is the only French city to have joined this project in 2016.
Nice is one of the pilot cities for the project, bringing together a consortium of 28 members, including 10 European cities with a high tourist density (Florence, Copenhagen, Santander, Lisbon, Syracuse, Ponta Delgada, Dubrovnik Cavala, Tenerife).
The city of Nice has a dynamic waste management policy, not only with locals but also with those coming from outside.
“We have populations that increase from June to September”, says Pierre-Paul Leonelli.
Urban Waste will allow the city of Nice to become aware of this new policy. It will adapt to it just like several European capitals. A sufficient reason for it to join the Urban Waste project.
Urban Waste will help implement a number of measures with professionals, tourism stakeholders, and partners to raise awareness among all those who visit the city in the summer.
Ecology and sustainable development are taken care of, even on vacation!
Pierre-Paul Léonelli states: “When a tourist comes to Nice, they don’t realize that waste collection is done almost every evening except Wednesday. On Wednesday, the recycling of packaging should be done.”
He wishes to sensitize all these people coming from outside by informing them about the systems, ashtrays, and urban furniture available to them.
This may help reduce the tons of waste found every day on the beaches and the Nice coast (between the bins [200], the water plan, and the beach).
All this to make Nice even more attractive in summer.
