Your questions on Rome: how to dispose of the garbage?

A new and pressing issue for our “questions on Rome” column, considering the current trash crisis in the city: how can a tourist dispose of the garbage when visiting the capital of Italy?

First off, this question comes with another dilemma: what trash crisis?

Many visitors, in fact, stick to the very central areas of the city, where for obvious… publicity reasons the garbage collection is a much more accurate affair. Therefore they might not have noticed anything out of the ordinary. However, we can assure you that the whole of Rome is drowning in rubbish, with no obvious solution in sight.

Where are Rome’s trash containers?

The fact that travelers may be oblivious to the current garbage crisis is because, quite simply put, they mostly stay in the city center of Rome (where, incidentally, all of From Home to Rome’s managed accommodation are located).

This proves to be a formidable solution to stay closer to the most famous landmarks, and is an invaluable one when one realizes that the old city is compact and very walkable, and can be enjoyed thoroughly on foot. The downside to staying in the city center, if it can be even called that, is not having the pulse on the city’s most pressing issues.

And trash collection is one of those. We can assure you, though: it’s not like the administration is hiding the problem! However, in an effort to improve the quality of life near the most famous areas of Rome (for instance so as to prevent people from dumpster diving), trash containers have been removed throughout the city center.

Door to door or collection points?

Now, if a tourist rents a flat in Rome’s most central boroughs, and this is certainly true for all of FHTR’s apartments, they will find separate bins in each accommodation, so as to easily sort their rubbish. The sorted trash can be disposed of in two different ways:

• through door to door collection (for instance, at apartments like La Terrazza di Elly, you’ll find a landing with different, communal containers);
• at collection points scattered in the different neighborhoods.

Collection points are always listed in our now famous information folders, the very same ones that are found in every managed apartment in our portfolio.

There, you will find a map with directions on how to reach them and, more importantly, when: go at a wrong time of the day and you may find that, indeed, garbage collectors have moved to a different area (collection points are really trucks carrying containers, moving about the city center).

What we do to help

At From Home to Rome we are fully aware that being on the lookout for a trash collection point can be an inconvenience.

So we try to assist you even when it comes to disposing of your trash. If you can’t locate a collection point, you can absolutely leave your garbage in the flat as you check out: we will throw it away for you. We only ask you to sort it beforehand (you will find multiple bins in the apartments).

What goes where? (or, how to sort the trash in Rome)

In Rome we’re currently sorting:

• Glass (regardless of its color)
• Plastic and metal, that can be disposed of together
• Paper and cardboard
• Food waste
• Mixed waste ( …everything else)

Exhausted batteries, large amounts of used oil, electronics or expired medications are thrown in special containers: please, leave them in the apartment and we will take care of those!

For a detailed rundown on how to dispose properly of the garbage in Rome, please see this PDF file.