Milan says no to plastic confetti

The city has passed an ordinance that will encourage more responsible and sustainable celebrations

Yesterday, 11 July, the Municipality of Milan adopted a prohibition on the use of plastic confetti and similar products, such as balloons, on the occasion of parties, demonstrations and events and during the Carnival celebration. The restrictive measure was tabled by the Greens at the City Council and was approved with 29 votes in favour and 10 abstentions.

The measure was first adopted at a district level

The proposal asked the mayor, Giuseppe Sala, to ban the use of this confetti and to promote an adequate information and awareness campaign. If this prohibition is not respected, the request is to impose a fine. 

"Long live the holidays, long live the confetti, but not the plastic ones that once thrown on the ground become irrecoverable by normal urban cleaning activities,” emphatically greeted the decision the group leader of Europa Verde (the Greens) Carlo Monguzzi, as quoted by Affaritaliani.

A similar proposal had already been approved a few days ago by Municipio 1 (a local district council in Milan). Lorenzo Pacini, councilor for greenery and street furniture, road maintenance, home, school building, neighbourhood markets, and youth policies at Municipio 1, was of the opinion that this was a positive example. 

In the sense that a good policy initiative originating from the lower rungs of administration and then adopted by the higher-ups, rather than the usual “paternalistic” way of doing things.

The councilor concluded: “It is not possible that in 2022 in front of the University of Milan they shoot plastic confetti to celebrate. It is no longer acceptable. These remain on lawns and plants for months and years, they are impossible to clean, clog up manholes and cause enormous damage. What are they for? Nothing. For these reasons, at Municipality 1 we have approved a document to propose to ban the sale and use of these products, also providing for specific sanctions. Celebrate responsibly: more prosecco and less plastic!”

There is no information, however, on what shall be done with metal-based confetti, as these are also non-biodegradable.