COMBINATION OF LIFE CYCLE THINKING AND ENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNICATION TO IMPROVE THE EFFICACY OF PAPER AND CARDBOARD COLLECTION IN SOUTHERN ITALY

This study proposes a combination of life cycle thinking and environmental communication to improve the efficacy of paper and cardboard collection in municipal solid waste (MSW) of twelve cities in Southern Italy as well as to develop an environmental campaign for the Italian Consortium for the Recovery and Recycling of Paper and Cardboard Packaging (Comieco). The three major cities considered were Naples (978,399 inhabitants), Bari (327,361) and Palermo (678,492). The maximum supposed total quantity of paper and cardboard in MSW was 20%. A total economic saving of 250 Euro/t of paper and cardboard potentially present in the unsorted residual waste was assumed (as sum of the Extended Producer Responsibility contribution and the avoided disposal in landfill). The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) calculations were performed with the software SimaPro 8, using the Ecoinvent v.3 database. LCA was used for the calculation of environmental benefits (in term of avoided impacts) that could be obtained if paper and cardboard potentially present in the unsorted residual waste was collected separately. Six were the main indicators calculated and that can be used for the environmental campaign: maximum quantity of paper and cardboard recoverable from unsorted residual waste; maximum potential economic saving for the city; maximum potential economic saving for each citizen; maximum number of young environmental communicators; maximum per capita saving of carbon dioxide equivalent; maximum per capita saving of Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALY).