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Two case studies are reported in the present work. They regard municipal solid waste (MSW) management trends in the last decades in two Italian provinces selected to analyse some issues of waste management in mountainous areas. The first case study refers to a selective collection (SC) rate expected to reach 80 % soon. This scenario assumes SC mainly in kerbside mode. The scenario is based on specific local conditions: the absence of a thermo-chemical plant in the territory (but with a part of the residual MSW burnt in a neighbour province), the presence of local plant of anaerobic, and a sanitary landfill for pre-treated residual MSW. The adopted tariff helped increasing the SC rate: indeed, since 2013, a tariff calculated at user level, depending on the behaviour of each user, has been adopted. This is called punctual tariff. The second case study concerns an area where SC reached about 75 %. The punctual tariff has been recently introduced. In this scenario, an incineration plant and a Solid Recovered Fuel (SRF) plant allow implementing an industrial symbiosis solution in conjunction with a cement factory. The work demonstrates that SC can be the core of a correct MSW management and that kerbside collection is fully compatible with mountainous area. However, other issues remain to be optimized yet: the low density of mountain areas makes difficult to implement enhanced solutions of SC (e.g. for diapers) and increases costs for light packaging collection; moreover, the presence of tourist fluxes can significantly affect SC efficiency.

The present work analyses aspects of the carbon footprint of a large wastewater treatment plant in central Italy. The plant mainly consists of a traditional activated sludge system along with an anaerobic digester providing a partial contribution of energy to the management. An integrated approach was adopted to evaluate the environmental sustainability of the treatment plant in terms of carbon footprint. For the assessment different sources of greenhouse gas emissions such as nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide were considered: effluent, production and transport of natural gas, energy consumption, boiler, co-generator, substrate and endogenous decays. According to the methodology adopted, energy consumption, production and transport of natural gas and N2O emissions from the effluent were found the most contributing sources of greenhouse gases. Based on this, these sources are suggested as the most relevant ones on which wastewater treatment plant managers should pay more attention when taking actions for carbon footprint mitigation. Considerations on the role of CO2 of biogenic origin (specifically the one in the biogas) in terms of sequestration options demonstrate that the analysis in this field should not be limited to the calculation and comment of non-fossil contributions to the overall balance.

Textile plays a crucial role in a circular economy and its traditional use needs to be replaced with sustainable ways. A circular economy gives repurpose and value to a resource in a continuous loop to be useful to its maximum extent at the end of stage life. Also, with the increase in population, consumption of resources, inflation, and environmental impacts are aggravated. Therefore, a literature review in this scenario which represents the solutions and the scope to incorporate circular economy with the clothes recovery is useful. The highlight of the review includes external hindrances such as consumer preferences, garment styles, and the need to involve indigenous productions in the regulations of the circular economy. In Swiss fashion firms, it’s harder to set circular economy principles as compared to Italy. Further, rich fashion brands do not generally favour the idea of a circular economy. However, a few young businesses, despite the complexities of each stage, are inclined more towards a circular economy. The overview of the current review gives various ideas, limitations, and the future perspective for the application of circular economy integrated with textile. Also, it gives an opportunity to assess and compare the circular economy hindrances and scope among different countries.

Open dumping and burning of solid waste are common practices in low-income countries. On small and touristic islands, the problem is exacerbated due to the additional volume of waste amount generated by tourists. This article presents how, using Nosy Be island in Madagascar as a case study, waste recovery and recycling can be fostered by tourism to tackle the waste challenge. About 95% of the waste of Nosy Be is openly dumped, discarded to sea or openly burned. Field analysis, interviews with local stakeholders and waste flow analysis served as methodological tools to assess the current solid waste management (SWM) system of Nosy Be. Stakeholder mapping and involvement as well as first exchange among local and international actors provided the basis to identify key practice and opportunities. Research findings highlight the importance of active participation and involvement of local partners supported by international experts, to suggest how touristic centres can serve as core of circular approaches. The article presents potential circular models to be implemented in Nosy Be, taking tourism as the entry point including the aspects of financial support, separated waste flows and the interest in 'green tourism marketing'. This case study underlines how international cooperation, touristic activities and common efforts can potentially help low-income communities improve their SWM practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A pilot-scale experiment was implemented in a waste bioreactor with an inner capacity of 1 m3 in order to simulate a real-scale composting process. The waste underwent composting conditions that are typical of the initial bio-oxidation phase, characterised by a high production of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), hydrogen sulphide (H2S) and odorants. The waste bioreactor was fed with an intermittent airflow rate of 6 Nm3/h. The target of this study was to investigate the air treatment performance of three biofilters with the same size, but filled with different filtering media: (1) wood chips, (2) a two-layer combination of lava rock (50%) and peat (50%), and (3) peat only. The analyses on air samples taken upstream and downstream of the biofilters showed that the combination of lava rock and peat presents the best performance in terms of mean removal efficiency of odour (96%), total VOCs (95%) and H2S (77%) concentrations. Wood chips showed the worst abatement performance, with respective mean removal efficiencies of 90%, 88% and 62%. From the results obtained, it is possible to conclude that the combination of lava rock and peat can be considered as a promising choice for air pollution control in waste composting facilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas found in rocks, soil, and building materials. Precisely because of its gaseous nature, it tends to concentrate in indoor environments, resulting in a danger to human health. The effects of radon have been described, documented, and attested by the international scientific community and recognized as the second cause of lung cancer after cigarette smoking and in synergy with it. In December 2013, the Council of the European Union issued Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom, which establishes basic safety standards relating to protection against the dangers deriving from exposure to ionized radiation and managing the health risks associated with radon. In addition, designing buildings against radon risk in synergy with the use of low environmental impact materials is one of the objectives of building sustainability certifications. This work presents how radon creeps into buildings and reports several technologies that are needed to remove and mitigate the risk associated with indoor radon in existing and new buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]