A student project on the management, reduction and recycling of cigarette butts has brought national recognition to the Polo Tecnico di Ariano Irpino at the 2026 Forum Sostenibilità linked to Il Sole 24 Ore.
According to the local report by Irpinianews, the school passed a national selection and received recognition at the 2026 Forum. The report describes the winning work as a proposal developed by students of the institute's hotel-management programme, framed as draft legislation on cigarette-butt waste.
What the students proposed
The reported project focuses on the management, reduction and recycling of cigarette butts. The available sources do not provide the full text of the students' proposed legislation, so its specific measures cannot be detailed here.
According to the same local report, the students are expected to present their proposal in the Senate in February. The exact date and confirmation of that presentation were not available in the research materials.
The official award pages reviewed do not independently name the Polo Tecnico di Ariano Irpino as a winner. That identification, and the detail that it was among a small group of upper-secondary schools recognised, comes from the Irpinianews report alone.
The award: Premio Scuola Sostenibile 2026
The official materials call the initiative the Premio Scuola Sostenibile, while the local report uses the variant Premio Sostenibilità Scuole. The two names are understood here to refer to the same 2026 Forum initiative, based on their shared Forum context.
According to the official award page, the Premio Scuola Sostenibile is a recognition for primary schools and lower- and upper-secondary schools with innovative projects in environmental, social and economic sustainability.
That broader scope helps explain why a hotel-management class could enter with a waste-recycling proposal: sustainability is not limited to one subject area in this award.
According to Il Sole 24 Ore, the 2026 edition accepts both completed experiences and projects still under development. Eligible themes include recycling, energy saving, green mobility, healthy lifestyles, inclusion and welcoming school environments.
The Forum setting
The award ceremony is associated with the Forum Sostenibilità 2026 in Rome on 29 October 2026, according to the official Forum and award materials.
The Forum's Focus Giovani event is listed as taking place on 29 October 2026 at the Auditorium Parco della Musica Ennio Morricone, Via Pietro de Coubertin, Rome, and is linked to the Premio Scuola Sostenibile.
Why this matters for readers
First, the Ariano Irpino case shows the kind of entry the award is designed to receive: a concrete, locally relevant environmental problem addressed through a project that can still be in development, rather than only a finished programme.
Second, for schools and families following the prize, the official eligibility criteria are wide. Projects may address recycling and energy saving, but also green mobility, healthy lifestyles, inclusion and welcoming, across primary and secondary levels.
What remains to be confirmed is the next step reported locally: the planned Senate presentation in February. Readers should treat that date as planned rather than confirmed until a venue, date or official programme is published.
