Pope Leo XIV used an Oct. 1 audience at the Apostolic Palace to press one of Italy's largest environmental services operators on the twin pressures bearing down on the waste sector: unchecked resource consumption and the mounting difficulty of managing and disposing of enormous waste volumes.

The audience brought a delegation from Hera Group, the Italian multi-utility active in waste management, integrated water systems and energy, to the Vatican. The company's relationship with the Holy See is operational, not ceremonial. In April, as part of its collaboration with Vatican City State on environmental sustainability and the circular economy, Hera donated a fully electric waste collection truck with a range of 60 kilometers (about 37 miles). The vehicle collects waste inside Vatican territory today.

The pontiff's framing of the sector's core problem

Leo XIV characterized the ecological challenge as more urgent than ever, describing a two-sided squeeze on the material stream. "On the one hand, we are witnessing the uncontrolled consumption of resources; on the other, the management and disposal of enormous quantities of waste are becoming increasingly problematic," he said.

For an industry audience, the statement reads as a high-level endorsement of the sector's own diagnosis: throughput growth on the consumption side is outpacing disposal and management capacity. The pope did not cite specific tonnage figures or facility targets, but he located responsibility in the production system itself.

"To avoid considering every used object as mere waste, it is necessary to change our behavior and commit ourselves to taking a different path," Leo XIV said. "In essence, this means overcoming the consumerist model and moving toward a productive system capable of preserving the limited goods of our planet."

Recycling cited as proven pathway

The pontiff singled out recycling as the activity that "demonstrates that it is possible to commit ourselves in this direction." He praised Hera's work in the field, though he offered no assessment of specific plants, recovery rates or commodity streams.

Leo XIV also cited his predecessor's encyclical Laudato Si', which states that "the model of recycling and circular production is a good path for ensuring a sustainable environment for future generations." He framed the Church's own operations as subject to the same consistency test that applies to commercial actors. "It is important to set an example of consistency: The Church must be the first to put into practice what she herself proclaims," he said.

The Vatican's acceptance of the electric collection vehicle from Hera functions as that pledge made tangible — a small but concrete piece of decarbonized municipal fleet operations inside the 49-hectare city-state.

From materials to labor

The pope extended the argument beyond the material stream to the workforce that handles it. "The work you carry out, including here in the Vatican, bears witness to the fact that the culture of waste can be successfully opposed by a culture of care," he told the Hera delegation. "This culture is not limited simply to objects and products but extends from them to human labor, and from labor to persons."

He closed by thanking the company for its environmental commitments. "I am grateful for the work you do in seeking to contribute to the care of our common home, and I encourage you to continue in this commitment," Leo XIV said. "Through our synergy, we will be able to make the home we all share ever more beautiful and welcoming."

What to watch

The Vatican-Hera collaboration on sustainability and circular economy operations continues, with the electric truck in daily service as its visible deliverable to date. Any expansion of that partnership — further fleet electrification or new waste handling arrangements within Vatican City State — would mark the next measurable step in the pledge Leo XIV has now put on record.