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IN FOCUS | 25 www.italchamind.eu Councillor Gianni Stea port offices such as Manfredonia and Brindisi), are going to be the protagonists of an all-green competition: the municipality registering the highest increase in plastic packaging collection, compared to a sample month, will be rewarded with a playground made from recycled plastic for the community. The initiative has the same goal as “Fishing for Litter”, which wants to face the environmental issue as an opportunity and not a problem or a permanent emergency. EDUCATIONAL AIMS Antonello Ciotti, President of Corepla (National Consortium for the Collection, Recycling and Recovery of Plastic Packaging), said that: “As 80% of marine litter comes from the mainland, the activities of Fishing for Litter allow us to monitor the health of our seas”. Separate collection, recycling and recovery thus became tools to combat marine waste and create a true circular economy. In this sense, the Puglia Region confirms itself as a virtuous region and leader in environmental protection. “It is not a world without plastic that we must fight for - Councillor Gianni Stea added - but a world without plastic in the seas, rivers, woods, whales’ stomachs, in the parks where our children play and in the water we drink. A world that uses plastic with a sense of responsibility, and with the awareness of the danger of this material when it is not accompanied by the correct management and it is not overused. In fact, it is only through an adequate education that the issue can be dealt with effectively, promoting a ‘bottom- up’ revolution that conveys the importance of a green approach on a large scale. In this path the presence of institutions, universities and schools is essential and fundamental. Not surprisingly – Stea continued – with the Regional’s Council Environment Department (section of Mobility, Urban Quality, Public Works, Ecology and Landscape) we started a program called “Puglia X Natura...A TUXTU con...” (Puglia BY Nature… FACE2FACE with…) as part of the environmental (and life) education project ‘Il BELLO del nostro RIFIUTO…io lo USO – Consiglieri Rivoluzionari in PartecipAZIONE‘ (THE GOOD of our waste…is what I USE – Revolutionary Councillors IN ACTION). It is a moment of dialogue and exchange of ideas on good practices between students from schools in Puglia and representatives of institutions, authorities and associations, all engaged in the ecological issue, during which the youngest are able to teach, ask questions and make proposals to the adults. The goal is always the same: to cooperate in the 3R ethics: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle”. · Gianni Stea, Assessore all’ambiente Regione Puglia