Garbage collector
Sicily. Castelbuono.
Late spring break.
Castelbuono is a Zero Waste town of 10.000hab in Sicily, Italy, which has managed to develop an innovative system to marry sustainability, social work and economics. The mayor, Mario Cicero, decided to link the recovery of a traditional donkey-breed from Sicily –called Ragusa- with the challenges of the waste collection in narrow streets and the social work to reintegrate people into society… and all of this without scaring off the big number of tourists that visit the fantastic medieval castle or buy local products of this Sicilian town.
This is how Mr Cicero decided to use the donkeys to do the door-to-door separate collection. On one hand it makes donkeys useful so that recovering this breed stops being a cost to become an asset, on the other hand it becomes a way to reintroduce socially excluded people -with mental or addiction problems- thanks to using contact with animals as a therapy –onotherapy– and finally it turns waste collection into a tourist attraction and an education tool. A win-win situation!
zerowasteeurope.eu/2012/04/castelbuono-the-town-where-eve...
Garbage collector
Sicily. Castelbuono.
Late spring break.
Castelbuono is a Zero Waste town of 10.000hab in Sicily, Italy, which has managed to develop an innovative system to marry sustainability, social work and economics. The mayor, Mario Cicero, decided to link the recovery of a traditional donkey-breed from Sicily –called Ragusa- with the challenges of the waste collection in narrow streets and the social work to reintegrate people into society… and all of this without scaring off the big number of tourists that visit the fantastic medieval castle or buy local products of this Sicilian town.
This is how Mr Cicero decided to use the donkeys to do the door-to-door separate collection. On one hand it makes donkeys useful so that recovering this breed stops being a cost to become an asset, on the other hand it becomes a way to reintroduce socially excluded people -with mental or addiction problems- thanks to using contact with animals as a therapy –onotherapy– and finally it turns waste collection into a tourist attraction and an education tool. A win-win situation!
zerowasteeurope.eu/2012/04/castelbuono-the-town-where-eve...