Reducing Plastic Pollution by Recovery and Recycling: Evidence from a “Blue Economy” Project Impacting Policy-Making in Italy

Vassallo, Lorenzo; Appolloni, Andrea; Fantauzzi, Chiara; Frondizi, Rocco

doi:10.3390/ijerph20085604

Open AccessArticle

Reducing Plastic Pollution by Recovery and Recycling: Evidence from a “Blue Economy” Project Impacting Policy-Making in Italy

by

Lorenzo Vassallo

¹,

Andrea Appolloni

^2,*

,

Chiara Fantauzzi

² and

Rocco Frondizi

²

¹

Fondazione Angelo Vassallo Sindaco Pescatore, 00133 Roma, Italy

²

Department of Management and Law, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, Italy

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(8), 5604; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20085604

Submission received: 27 February 2023 / Revised: 17 April 2023 / Accepted: 18 April 2023 / Published: 21 April 2023

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Crisis Management and the Circular Economy for Healthier, Smarter and More Sustainable Cities)

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Abstract

This paper recognizes the relevance of the Seabed Cleaning Project, created by the Angelo Vassallo Sindaco Pescatore Foundation in 2010, and presents it as a tool to achieve benefits in environmental, social, and economic terms, in line with the innovative framework of the Blue Economy. The project suggests a practical, feasible, and scalable solution to plastic pollution that can be obtained thanks to the activity performed by fishermen in cooperation with the municipality and local community (in a multi-level cooperation perspective). The data show a significant reduction of plastic on the seafloor thanks to the project, but further research is needed in order to collect further positive outcomes from different applications of the project. In 2022, the “Salva Mare” Law was approved in the Senate, extending the good practices proposed by the Foundation nationwide and showing how small gestures and concrete actions can provide significant improvements in pursuit of a healthier, safer, greener, and smarter city for the future.

Keywords: blue economy; circular economy; collaborative economy; solving plastic pollution

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MDPI and ACS Style

Vassallo, L.; Appolloni, A.; Fantauzzi, C.; Frondizi, R. Reducing Plastic Pollution by Recovery and Recycling: Evidence from a “Blue Economy” Project Impacting Policy-Making in Italy. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20, 5604. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20085604

AMA Style

Vassallo L, Appolloni A, Fantauzzi C, Frondizi R. Reducing Plastic Pollution by Recovery and Recycling: Evidence from a “Blue Economy” Project Impacting Policy-Making in Italy. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2023; 20(8):5604. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20085604

Chicago/Turabian Style

Vassallo, Lorenzo, Andrea Appolloni, Chiara Fantauzzi, and Rocco Frondizi. 2023. "Reducing Plastic Pollution by Recovery and Recycling: Evidence from a “Blue Economy” Project Impacting Policy-Making in Italy" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 20, no. 8: 5604. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20085604

APA Style

Vassallo, L., Appolloni, A., Fantauzzi, C., & Frondizi, R. (2023). Reducing Plastic Pollution by Recovery and Recycling: Evidence from a “Blue Economy” Project Impacting Policy-Making in Italy. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(8), 5604. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20085604

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

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Reducing Plastic Pollution by Recovery and Recycling: Evidence from a “Blue Economy” Project Impacting Policy-Making in Italy

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