pronarni

Italy and Narni, a regional situation

Italy is a nation which always put creativity at the top, so we could start from solar energy and the renewable sources propounding intelligent and sustainable recycling.

Solar energy

The town council of Narni is a rare example of photovoltaic panels installation for the production of electric energy in Italy thanks to Energia Futura and others firm, which has built photovoltaic plants in our area covering the energy needs of the inhabitants of Narni.

In our school (High School specialized in Scientific Studies) photovoltaic panels on the roof were installed and the electric energy produced by them was used both to save energy and to explain to students the vital importance of solar energy. Every day the electronic mechanism of this display measures the saved energy which is also used for the working of the school fountain.

Furthermore our school participated in projects together with a Portuguese and a German school like the Comenius which obtained an award for the best project in Europe for the diffusion of scientific culture at school. As shown in the picture the final product of these studies was the construction of little cars fed by solar energy.

Narni is one of the first towns in Italy where solar systems are widely diffused. In fact photovoltaic panels were installed in : petrol stations

i outside the factories, in parking areas, on the cemetery roofs.

Firms in our area are working on big projects too like the photovoltaic modules which will be built in Palermo, Sicily, the biggest in Europe made by "Energia Futura".

BIOLOGICAL PLASTIC

BIOLOGICAL PLASTIC

In Terni there was an industrial revolution with the opening of the first biological refinery in Italy for biological plastic using maize and sunflower seeds.Mater-Bi is a kind of bioplastic developed and marketed by Novamont:

Il Mater-Bi ( the new plastic)It is similar to traditional plastic but it is biodegradable in about 180 days. It needs more time if is is used for special applications.

This material can be used for different purposes like biological plastic bags for the separate waste disposal of the humid waste which can go directly to the dump.

Bioplastic can be used not only for plastic plates, cutlery, glasses, napkins but also for greenhouses and coverings used in agriculture, packing material for food. Furthermore bioplastic can be used for cotton sticks or tyres, very difficult to discharge.

All these biodegradable items do not need incinerators to be burnt as now happens to plastic and moreover they do not need a separation treatment and to be sent to the dump as waste. The waste disposal will be definetely reduced if not solved through the use of bioplastic.

bio-plastic, …… the plastic not more a problem.

Narnia e Narni

We live in Narni which once was called Narnia. As in "The chronicles of Narnia" by Lewis, in the village where "it is always winter and never Christmas", the children can change things for the better bringing spring back to Narnia, so nowadays our kids can improve the quality of life in Narni and in the rest of Italy devoting themselves to environment.

Our valley, a sort of Eden for poets like Byron, is now a polluted area because of the presence of a steel mill since the first years of 1900. The main entrance of Narni is similar to that one of Prince Caspian and recalls the magic wardrobe of the fantasy film "The Chronicles of Narnia".

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Narni is set on a hill overlooking the river Nera. Its skyline shows wonderful medieval towers. The historical centre characterized by stone medieval houses with ancient roofs is not suitable for big innovations as solar panels which would change the landscape too much.

We would like our land turns to a sustainable development to make the most of natural resources like the area of the Roman Bridge of the Emperor Augustus, lowering the pollution and increasing the door to door separate waste disposal. Our medieval traditions, shown in our Festival "The ring race"in May, can improve tourism and offer a new altrnative economy to our land.

Like the young characters of the "Chronicles of Narnia" who fight against the evil, we are now engaged to transform our town into a land of legend.

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BIOLOGICAL COVERAGE MATERIAL:

LINOLEUM TARKETT company

system of recycling the scraps through a process of grinding

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The intelligent flooring solutions belong to the world ecological system and all the different kinds of floors (Vinyl, Linoleum, VisionLine) are produced with enormous respect for the environment. Starting from raw material like linseed oil and cork, linoleum flooring is considered par excellence the most respectful for the environment. Linoleum floorings are appreciated for their long lasting, natural beauty and comfort for more than a hundred of years.

Tarkett Linoleum has been produced by renewable raw material as linseed oil, resins, wood flour, cork and jute flours, all elements which are ecologically sustainable.

The main criterias taken into consideration for LCA (Life Cycle Age) analysis are:

Climate changes due to the carbon dioxide and other gases responsible for global warming
Atmospheric acidification
Dangerous emissions in the air and water
Energy resources consumption
Quality of the internal air (VOC)
Waste – recycling and disposal

The Tarkett company produces ecological material to do floorings for houses, gyms, hospitals, ships but about 30% of the material was faulty, so it was discarded and sent to the dump. This year a system of recycling the scraps through a process of grinding the faulty material has been created reducing to 1% the material which cannot be reused.

This method allows the separation of jute threads from the remaining part of the grinded material and the reuse of the material (about 29%) which was sent to the dump before and caused a lot of problems to the factory to respect the European environmental rules.

Thank you so much for your kind attention.