Environmental Performance Reporting and Assessment of the Biodegradable Waste Treatment Plants Registered to EMAS in Italy

Stefano Castelluccio, Claudio Comoglio and Silvia Fiore
Additional contact information
Stefano Castelluccio: Department of Engineering for Environment, Land, and Infrastructures DIATI, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Turin, Italy
Claudio Comoglio: Department of Engineering for Environment, Land, and Infrastructures DIATI, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Turin, Italy
Silvia Fiore: Department of Engineering for Environment, Land, and Infrastructures DIATI, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Turin, Italy

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 12, 1-14

Abstract: This study investigates how the environmental performances of biodegradable waste (e.g., organic fraction of municipal solid waste, green waste, agro-industrial waste) treatment plants are reported and how their improvement is planned by the managing companies, and assesses current key quantitative data versus the Best Available Techniques associated emission levels (BAT-AELs). Based on their Environmental Statements (ESs), 16 installations registered to EMAS in Italy in 2021 were analyzed. A set of 15 technical-environmental-social key aspects was described through 131 different indicators. Emissions to air, odor emissions, energy consumption/production, waste production and water consumption were the only key aspects considered significant and quantified by at least 50% of the ESs. Improvement targets were set by 38% of the companies for process management, and by 25% for emissions to air, for a total allocated budget of 25.2 M€. Odor emissions were mostly below the lower BAT-AELs, while NH 3 concentration values were slightly above the lower BAT-AELs, demonstrating good performance levels and an overall improvement trend in the period 2018–2020 (−6% and −33.6%, respectively). This study provides interesting hints on the environmental performances of biodegradable waste treatment plants, also contributing to raise the trust of the wide public towards this waste treatment sector.

Keywords: biodegradable waste; best available techniques; biogas; compost; environmental management system; environmental performance indicator (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/12/7438/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/12/7438/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:12:p:7438-:d:841474

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().