Aart Heering
On the Piazza di San Cosimato in the Roman district of Trastevere there is a brand new waste container that, when you fill it, thanks you with a sonorously sung 'Hallelujah!'. Something like this is actually only possible in Rome, and certainly in a Rome that is already well on its way to the Jubilee Year 2025. More than 30 million visitors are expected then, twice as many as normal. The city is therefore working diligently on preparations. The singing garbage can is one of them.
Jubilee year
The Jubilee Year is an ancient Jewish custom that was given a Catholic sauce by Pope Boniface VIII in 1300. Anyone who came to Rome that year could receive a generous indulgence for their sins. Good for the salvation of the souls of the faithful, but certainly also for the papal coffers and the Roman middle class, and that is actually still the case.
Initially, a Jubilee Year, also called a Holy Year, was proclaimed every 50 years, but later this became four times a century, most recently in 2000. Some popes have also introduced extraordinary Jubilee Years - such as 2015, which Pope Francis dedicated to mercy - , but as a popular religious attraction they do not compare with the 'regular' Holy Years.
In 2000, the year of the turn of the millennium and a popular pope, Rome attracted more than 30 million visitors, more than half of whom were pilgrims. That number is expected to be surpassed by 2025. After all, in the meantime the number of Catholics on earth has increased and Bergoglio - assuming he is still Pope - is no less popular than Wojtyla.
Total chaos
Accommodating all those people is a gigantic operation, for which more than 4,5 billion euros has been allocated. The official list of projects contains 87 'interventions' of the most diverse kind. The access roads to Rome are being renovated. New pedestrian areas will be created - including at Castel Sant'Angelo, where traffic has to go underground, but where there is now total chaos due to the work.
The number of metro trains is being drastically expanded. Bus and tram stops near the Vatican will have interactive electronic information screens. New parking garages are being built and additional parking spaces are being created in the suburbs for tourist buses.
There will be new public toilets and fountains with fresh water. Homeless people who are still camped around the Vatican go to shelters in the suburbs. Churches in the center and periphery are being renovated.
The traditional paving with cobblestones (basalt stones) is being restored in many places. Finally, half a billion from the National Recovery Plan (of Next Generation EU) has been earmarked for the renovation of the archaeological, historical and cultural heritage.
Waste issue
For the Roman city council, the Jubilee Year is also an opportunity to tackle the persistent waste issue. In recent years, it was all too common to find stinking piles of rubbish on the streets of Rome. Things have improved somewhat, also because part of the Roman city waste is now processed in Amsterdam, but the problem is far from solved.
Intelligent containers
This is also because the Romans still dump plastic bins (containers) that quickly become dirty, broken and/or overcrowded. That is why experiments are now being carried out with metals'smart bins', which compress the waste and are equipped with an app that warns the municipal waste company when they are almost full. This also saves CO2, explains an inscription on the container itself.
And because they are filled via a self-closing drawer, the risk of bulging and odor also disappears. This is currently an experiment in 6 neighborhoods, including Colle Oppio near the Colosseum and the Borgo next to the Vatican, but according to plan the new containers should be installed by December 8, 2024, when the Jubilee Year starts.
The pilot model has already become popular in Trastevere, also because those who fulfill their civic duty are rewarded with an expression of gratitude from the container itself. In addition to the appropriately cheered “Hallelujah!” you may hear prolonged applause, the chirping of a bird or the flushing of a toilet.
The device also works if you just open and close it, so you can hear all 4 within a minute. That will be a fun game in the Holy Year, between church visits and prayer meetings!
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