AN INDICATOR TO ASSESS THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY OF INTEGRATED MUNICIPAL WASTE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

Abstract

Tools based on the concept of Life Cycle Thinking (LCT) can be (and are) used to assess the environmental and economic performances of integrated municipal solid waste (MSW) management systems. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is used to quantify the environmental impacts, whereas Life Cycle Costing (LCC) allows financial and economic assessments. These tools require specific experience and knowledge, and a large amount of data. The aim of this project, developed by MatER (Materials & Energy from Refuse) Research Center, is the definition of an indicator for the assessment of environmental and economic sustainability of integrated MSW management systems. The challenge is to define a simple but comprehensive indicator that may be calculated also by local administrators and managers of the waste system and not only by scientists or LCT experts. The proposed indicator is a composite indicator and it derives from the aggregation of three individual indicators: two of them assess the material and the energy recovery levels achieved in the system, while the third one quantifies the costs associated with the waste management. The indicator would allow to compare different integrated MSW management systems in an objective way and to monitor the performance of a system over time. The calculation of the three individual indicators has been tested for the integrated MSW management systems implemented in the Lombardia Region as well as in four of its provinces (Milano, Bergamo, Pavia, and Mantova).