Promoting Agenda 2030 through Circular Economy transition requires improving waste system management and increasing separate collection. In Italy, municipal solid waste management is entrusted to the municipalities, most of which have not yet reached the minimum threshold of 65% for the separate collection imposed by the Environmental Code in 2012. This research aims to investigate the effect of compliance with environmental legislation by Italian municipalities on the total cost of municipal solid waste management, filling a shortage of literature studies on this issue. It also investigates the other significant factors affecting municipal solid waste costs, analysing a large dataset of 1914 municipalities. The study uses regression analysis on aggregate and regional samples and population-based subsamples to verify the existence of economies of scale or density. The results show that environmental compliance determines cost reduction in the northern regions, thanks to more efficient separate collection management and recycling activities in the downstream phases of the process. Instead, environmental compliance produces a cost increase in central regions due to the lack of waste recycling and composting infrastructure. Finally, in the conclusions, policy implications are drawn for the Italian case.

Barchiesi, M., Costa, R., Di Pillo, F. (2022). The Link between the Compliance with Environmental Legislation on Separate Collection and the Municipal Solid Waste Costs. SUSTAINABILITY, 14(9) [10.3390/su14095661].

The Link between the Compliance with Environmental Legislation on Separate Collection and the Municipal Solid Waste Costs

Barchiesi, MA;Costa, R
;
Di Pillo, F
2022-01-01

Abstract

Promoting Agenda 2030 through Circular Economy transition requires improving waste system management and increasing separate collection. In Italy, municipal solid waste management is entrusted to the municipalities, most of which have not yet reached the minimum threshold of 65% for the separate collection imposed by the Environmental Code in 2012. This research aims to investigate the effect of compliance with environmental legislation by Italian municipalities on the total cost of municipal solid waste management, filling a shortage of literature studies on this issue. It also investigates the other significant factors affecting municipal solid waste costs, analysing a large dataset of 1914 municipalities. The study uses regression analysis on aggregate and regional samples and population-based subsamples to verify the existence of economies of scale or density. The results show that environmental compliance determines cost reduction in the northern regions, thanks to more efficient separate collection management and recycling activities in the downstream phases of the process. Instead, environmental compliance produces a cost increase in central regions due to the lack of waste recycling and composting infrastructure. Finally, in the conclusions, policy implications are drawn for the Italian case.
2022
Pubblicato
Rilevanza internazionale
Articolo
Esperti anonimi
Settore ING-IND/35 - INGEGNERIA ECONOMICO-GESTIONALE
English
waste management
municipal waste costs
environmental compliance
separate collection
regional analysis
Barchiesi, M., Costa, R., Di Pillo, F. (2022). The Link between the Compliance with Environmental Legislation on Separate Collection and the Municipal Solid Waste Costs. SUSTAINABILITY, 14(9) [10.3390/su14095661].
Barchiesi, M; Costa, R; Di Pillo, F
Articolo su rivista
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
sustainability-14-05661-v2.pdf

accesso aperto

Tipologia: Versione Editoriale (PDF)
Licenza: Creative commons
Dimensione 289.37 kB
Formato Adobe PDF
289.37 kB Adobe PDF Visualizza/Apri

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2108/302953
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus 8
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 6
social impact