The 'Bella Milano' ('Beautiful Milan') project, was launched by the town council to get the unemployed, asylum seekers and those who have requested citizenship involved in activities to clean up the city. The first four teams began their work in the area near the central station and Via Padova. They include: 2 asylum seekers, an unemployed holder of a work bursary and a team leader from the Vestisolidale cooperative, which will coordinate the cleaning of the streets and squares six days a week. The aim is to cover the entire city and to rise to a total of 20 teams, which will work alongside the Milan municipal waste collection agency ANSA. They will clean parks frequented by the homeless and gather cardboard and other recyclable material.

 Asylum seekers in 'anti-degradation' project since 2016

Anti-degradation activities began in Milan in 2016 with asylum seekers. About 500 took part, such as in the initiative 'Let's Clean the World' under the Italian environmentalist association Legambiente. This is the second year of voluntary activity by asylum seekers. The town council has given some of them certificates for their work.

'A beautiful challenge', says councillor

The councillor for social policies, Pierfrancesco Majorino, said that the initiative was ''a very beautiful challenge to involve everyone ever more in the care of the city'', including citizens, volunteers, asylum seekers and refugees.