Some considerations on circular economy, municipal solid waste and occupational risk

¹ Insubria University of Varese, Department of Theoretical and Applied Sciences, via G.B. Vico, 46, I-21100 Varese, Italy
² University of Trento, Department of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering, via Mesiano 77, 38123, Trento, Italy
³ Ural Federal University, Department of Environmental Economics, Mira str., 19, 620002, Ekaterinburg, Russia

^* Corresponding author: elena.rada@unitn.it

Abstract

The aim of the present article is to preliminarily analyse the effects that the introduction of the principles of circular economy can have on the occupational risk in the sector of MSW management. The chosen reference scenario concerns an Italian town that reached a very high efficiency of selective collection and where a lot of data have been generated in the last years to characterize the content of MSW. Since 2015, the town has to modify a few criteria of MSW management in order to fully comply with the vision of EU. The methodology adopted in the present article is based on the following steps. Details on the destination and material recovery were collected for each stream of MSW presently source separated: specifically, food waste and green waste, paper and cardboard, plastics, metals, glass, composite materials, textiles, expired medicaments, exhausted batteries and other. This scenario was analysed concerning new possible initiatives on source separated streams and their treatment (e.g. diapers). Moreover, additional modifications to the present approach were analysed in order to maximize material recovery, optimize energy recovery and minimize landfilling. Consequences of this re-organization of the sector have to be discussed in terms of occupational risk and economic impact.