Ferrara/San Donato Milanese (Milan), 27 September 2021  - The Sole Commissioner for the reclamation of unauthorised landfill sites and Arbolia, a benefit company created by Snam and Fondazione Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, for the development of new green belts in Italy, have signed a memorandum of understanding to launch reforestation projects in reclaimed landfill sites throughout the country.

By creating new urban woodland, the collaboration will enable sites that currently host unauthorised landfills to be returned to the citizens, while promoting the economic and social development of these areas and raising awareness among local communities of the need to combat climate change.

The memorandum was announced in Ferrara during the Rem Tech Expo 2021, an international event dedicated to the sustainable development of land, at which Arbolia was a guest.

“The waste cycle is a cycle that must not simply end in a landfill, or rather the death of the terrain. It must, if possible, aim to revive the land or return it to the community and restore its natural habitat. This common objective is precisely what the stipulation of this agreement with Arbolia is aimed at: to give the land back to the land, to make the environment usable where there was previously uncontrolled abandonment of waste, to free the land from indiscriminate human use and replace it with a conscious use in line with the development of well-being in every individual. The projects we wish to develop with Arbolia are underpinned by this very philosophy. They are seeking to recreate a natural habitat and, if possible, reforest the environment, laying the foundations for our future. I am pleased with this partnership because I hope it will bear fruit that all citizens will appreciate and local communities will enjoy," says General Vadalà.

According to Dario Manigrasso, Head of Operations, Marketing & Commercial at Arbolia, “this agreement is an inspiring example of collaboration with the public sector for the benefit of the environment and its citizens. It is consistent with Arbolia's mission to create new green areas in Italy, helping to achieve national climate targets and improve air quality and the quality of life".

Since its launch around one year ago, Arbolia has created six green belts in five Italian cities, making a total of 11 thousand trees planted. The new urban woodland will absorb up to 681 tonnes of CO₂ and 4,502 kg of PM₁₀ per year. In the next few months, the benefit company will develop initiatives and projects in a further twenty Italian municipalities from the North to the South of the country.