How do you explain waste sorting to guests from abroad?
For each type of waste, state the bin colour, where it is and on which days it is collected, using icons and short sentences. Add what to do on departure, for example taking the food waste out. Use a multilingual sign or a translated digital guide, and always check your town’s rules.
What should you ask guests to do with rubbish at check-out?
Ask for a few clear things: sort waste into the right bins, take out the food waste or the bag you name, and do not leave rubbish outside the bins. Say where the bins are and on which days collection happens. Simple, precise requests are followed more often than a long list.
Why waste sorting confuses guests
A guest arriving from another country, or even from another Italian city, does not know which colour your town uses, whether bags go out on the street or to a street bin, or which day the truck comes. They guess, and they often guess wrong.
- Bin colours are not the same everywhere: what is yellow at home may be blue at your place.
- Collection may be door to door, with a day for each type, or street bins, open all the time or unlocked with a card.
- Food waste is what smells if it stays indoors: that is the line to write first, with the day it goes out.
A long list does not get read. A few lines per type work: the name of the waste, the colour, where the bin is and when it goes out. Next to each line you can draw a circle in the bin’s colour: it is seen before the text.
What to write for short-let guests
The text below is meant to be filled in, not copied empty. Replace the parts in square brackets with what your town or waste operator’s website says, and remove the types you do not have at home. The English version has the same lines in the same order.
The same text is pasted into the digital guide. If you want a sheet in the kitchen, print these lines and fill in the colours by hand: anyone opening the fridge sees it without a phone.
RACCOLTA DIFFERENZIATA Queste indicazioni valgono per il Comune di [Comune]. Colori e giorni cambiano da un Comune all’altro: compilali dal sito del Comune o del gestore della raccolta. Organico (umido) Contenitore: [colore] Dove: [dove si trova] Quando portarlo fuori: [giorno e orario] Carta e cartone Contenitore: [colore] Dove: [dove si trova] Quando portarlo fuori: [giorno e orario] Plastica e lattine Contenitore: [colore] Dove: [dove si trova] Quando portarlo fuori: [giorno e orario] Vetro Contenitore: [colore] Dove: [dove si trova] Quando portarlo fuori: [giorno e orario] Indifferenziato Contenitore: [colore] Dove: [dove si trova] Quando portarlo fuori: [giorno e orario] ALLA PARTENZA Separate quello che resta negli stessi contenitori. Portate fuori l’umido, o il sacchetto che vi indichiamo. Non lasciate sacchetti fuori dai bidoni. Dubbi: [numero o pagina del gestore]
WASTE SORTING These notes apply in the town of [town]. Colours and days change from one town to the next: fill them in from the town or waste operator’s website. Food waste Bin: [colour] Where: [where it is] When to put it out: [day and time] Paper and cardboard Bin: [colour] Where: [where it is] When to put it out: [day and time] Plastic and cans Bin: [colour] Where: [where it is] When to put it out: [day and time] Glass Bin: [colour] Where: [where it is] When to put it out: [day and time] General waste Bin: [colour] Where: [where it is] When to put it out: [day and time] ON DEPARTURE Sort whatever is left into the same bins. Take out the food waste, or the bag we tell you to. Do not leave bags outside the bins. Questions: [operator’s number or page]
| What to write | |
|---|---|
| Type | What to write: The name your town uses: food waste, paper, plastic and cans, glass, general waste. |
| Colour | What to write: The colour of the bin you have at home, not the one from another town. |
| Where | What to write: Under the sink, in the courtyard, or the street bin with a landmark. |
| When | What to write: The day and time the bag goes out, from the town’s calendar. |
| Departure | What to write: What to take out, and not to leave bags outside the bins. |
Check your town’s rules
This page does not say how waste is sorted across Italy and is not legal advice. Bins, colours, days and cards are set by the town, or by the waste operator on its behalf. Before you fill in the text, open your town’s or operator’s page and copy from there. The three examples below are local pages, checked on the date shown in the sources: they apply there, not somewhere else.
| Florence | Verona (AMIA) | AmAmbiente | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who publishes it | Florence: The Municipality of Florence, page of 26 June 2025 | Verona (AMIA): AMIA, the operator for the Municipality of Verona | AmAmbiente: The operator, for the towns it serves |
| What the page contains | Florence: Kits in Italian, English, French, German and Spanish for accommodation | Verona (AMIA): Leaflets and a QR code for a waste dictionary | AmAmbiente: A note for owners of short lets |
| What you do | Florence: Ask the town whether the kit is available for your property | Verona (AMIA): The page tells guests to ask for the card that opens controlled-access bins | AmAmbiente: Open your town’s waste regulation, as the page points you to |
- On the town’s website, search for waste collection or the collection calendar, together with the town’s name.
- Note colours, days and whether collection is door to door or street bins. If a card or a key is needed, write it in the text.
- If the town already has a sheet in English, start from that. If it does not, fill in the text on this page from the official Italian page.
- When the calendar changes, update the text. Last year’s sheet sends guests out on the wrong day.
Put it in the digital guide
In LOQY the waste instructions live in the House rules section, included on the Free plan together with the basic information and the QR code. The full rules template is in Holiday rental house rules. In the welcome book the same section is already there, shorter: the text on this page completes it. The guide that holds them together is the digital guest guide.
- Create your account and the property page. The Free plan covers one property, with no credit card.
- Fill in the text with your town’s colours and days and paste it into the house rules.
- On the Pro plan you turn languages on: the same page is translated and the guest picks theirs.
- Print the QR code and put it where the bins are, or by the entrance next to the sheet.
- When the town changes a day, you update the page. The printed QR code stays the same.
The Free plan includes one property, the basic information and the QR code. The Pro plan costs €10 a month or €90 a year, VAT excluded, with a 7-day trial and no card: if you do not add a card, you go back to Free. It adds unlimited properties, translations, additional information, local tips and the gallery. If you manage several units and need dedicated onboarding, write to support@loqy.info and ask for a custom quote.
Frequently asked questions
- Are the rules the same across Italy?
- No. Bins, colours, days and cards are set by the town, or by the waste operator on its behalf. What the Municipality of Florence’s page describes does not apply in Verona, and AmAmbiente’s note applies to the towns it serves. Before you write the text, open your town’s website and copy from there.
- Does the town provide materials in English?
- It depends on the town. The Municipality of Florence’s page of 26 June 2025 describes kits in Italian, English, French, German and Spanish for accommodation. Nothing on this page shows that every town does the same. Ask yours, or the operator: if there is no sheet in English, fill in the text above from the official Italian instructions.
- Who is responsible if a guest sorts the waste wrong?
- This page does not answer that question and is not legal advice. Who has to do what is set out in your town’s waste regulation, not in a single rule for Italy. Ask the town. Some operators, such as AmAmbiente for the towns it serves, publish a short-let page that points to the local regulation: it applies there.
- Can I use colour icons?
- Yes, as a visual aid: a circle in the bin’s colour and a short word are seen before a paragraph. The colours in the Florence and Verona examples are not a scheme to copy. If your operator publishes official icons, use those; otherwise draw the colour of the bin you have at home.
Sources
Try LOQY for free
One property, house rules and the QR code, with no credit card. For several units with dedicated onboarding, write to support@loqy.info.
TRY LOQY FOR FREE