Search

The main aim of this study was to define a procedure useful to evaluate the potential environmental, social and economic benefits contained in paper and cardboard (or other recyclables), which are wasted in the unsorted fraction of municipal solid waste (MSW). To give a practical example, the procedure was applied to the 550 municipalities of the Campania region, in Southern Italy, but the developed procedure is applicable in any context in an 'urban mining' perspective. The procedure consists of five phases and uses two methodologies: one for the estimation of the composition analysis of the unsorted residual waste and another for the calculation of sustainability indicators able to measure the benefits wasted in the unsorted residual MSW. Six indicators were defined: two for the environment (carbon footprint and ecological footprint), two for the society (health footprint and occupational benefits) and two for the economy (economic profit and economic saving). The first methodology was developed by the regional environmental protection agency to update the MSW regional management plan. The second methodology is based on the use of the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) through which it was possible to calculate the reference parameters useful for the calculation of the impacts (i.e., loss of benefits) for recycling, mechanical and biological treatment (MBT), incineration and landfilling of paper and cardboard contained in the unsorted residual waste. The obtained results confirmed the presence of such an enormous deposit of recyclable materials contained in the unsorted residual waste, which is a potential source, but not exploited, of environmental, social and economic benefits. For instance, the paper and cardboard 'urban mine' of Naples was greater than 16 million of euro (economic profit + economic saving), with a potential saving of around 11.4 million of kgCO 2 eq. (carbon footprint), 207 million of m2 (ecological footprint), 44 Disability Adjusted Life Years (health footprint), with a creation of 30 job positions in the waste management sector (occupational benefits). [Display omitted] • A procedure consisting of five phases was developed using two methodologies. • One methodology estimates the composition analysis of the unsorted residual waste. • Another methodology used a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach. • Two indicators for the environment, two for the society and two for the economy. • The paper and cardboard 'urban mine' of Naples was greater than 16 million of euro. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The implementation of scientific studies can help to improve sustainable solutions in the agri-food sector according to current European policy. The present paper aims to evaluate the carbon footprint, according to ISO/TS 14067:2013, of 0.5 kg of sweet cherries packaged in clamshell made in polyethylene terephthalate (PET). The research assesses the supply chain, from agricultural (from nursery to dismantling) to the processing phase in firms located in the Apulia region. Results show a global warming potential over a fixed period corresponding to 100 years equal to 0.584 kg CO 2eq , primarily deriving from agricultural management (0.442 kg CO 2eq) and secondly from fruit processing (0.068 kg CO 2eq). In the orchard phase, the main impacts derived from electricity consumed to pump groundwater used for irrigation and fertigation activities (15.84% of the total), transportation of manure (6.42% of the total), ploughing activity (4.83% of the total) and production of nitrogen fertilisers (4.28% of the total). Cherries processing in the collecting centre showed impacts from electricity consumption (5.57% of the total) and from waste deriving from damaged or non-conforming cherries (4.74% of the total). The PET clamshell production phase had an impact deriving principally from the use of PET granulate (0.0743 kg CO 2eq). The study highlighted that manure administration and pruning activities contribute to decreasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Moreover, the sensitivity analysis showed that substitution of electricity-mix deriving from the Italian national grid with a photovoltaic plant lowered GHG emissions by 19%. The present study could contribute in providing suggestions to stakeholders and scholars in reducing GHG emissions and promoting more environmentally sustainable sweet cherry production practices. Image 1 • Increasing knowledge on the CF assessment of the sweet cherries supply chain. • A case study of sweet cherry production located in Southern Italy was examined. • Carbon Footprint assessment was applied to 0.5 kg of sweet cherry in PET clamshell. • Results show that GWP 100 is equal to 0.584 kg CO 2eq. • Main impacts deriving from agricultural activities (75%) and fruit processing (12%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to assess and compare the sustainability of rapeseed and sunflower crop cultivation for energy purposes in Italy, by considering environmental and economic performances at the farm level. The analysis focused on twelve representative farming units that were extracted from a sample of 396 farms by applying a cluster analysis. Using an Attributional Life Cycle Assessment method, the values of midpoint environmental impact categories and the carbon footprint of the twelve farms were assessed. The economic performance of rapeseed and sunflower per 1 Mg of biomass cultivation was measured in terms of the value added. In order to combine an environmental and economic assessment, the eco-efficiency ratio was applied to measure the value added per Mg of greenhouse gasses emitted into the atmosphere. Three rapeseed farms had the lowest GHG emissions of the whole sample. Practices of intensive farming with high fertilization and mechanization (fertilizer and machinery production and usage) are known to have a negative environmental impact. When the level of productivity is low, the impact is still higher. Regarding the eco-efficiency ratio, of the twelve representative farming units, results showed again that the three rapeseed farms had the highest eco-efficiency ratio. Summarizing both perspectives, findings from the eco-efficiency analysis gave a premium to rapeseed over sunflower crop in terms of the economic value added per kg of GHGs emitted into the atmosphere. The study findings presented a complex picture of the crops and of agricultural practices of each farm that underlines the variability and sensitivity of results in specific case studies. Indeed, the complexity of the matter, including the implications of bioenergy crops for energy and food safety beyond the environmental and economic assessment of the cultivation phase, cannot be ignored. Further studies are needed to apply a multiple perspective to the joint analysis of the sustainability of agricultural processes related to first generation bioenergy crops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite many studies in literature demonstrate the environmental sustainability of organic food, a debate is still open in the scientific community on the effect of organic farming on global warming and climate change mitigation. This paper aims to contribute to a more informed debate on the actual contribution to climate change in terms of GHG emissions of organic and conventional agriculture. For this purpose, the production process of an organic vs conventional wholemeal bread locally produced in central Italy by a small-medium bakery enterprise was compared and the carbon footprint (CF) was assessed by means of the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. We found that the CF of 1 kg of the conventional wholemeal bread was 24% less respect to the same organic bread, with 1,18 and 1,55 kg CO 2 eq respectively. On the contrary, if the CF is assessed per unit of cultivated area (hectare), wheat organic cultivation showed a better performance in terms of GHG emissions than conventional by 60%, with 1,15 and 2,87 Mg CO 2 eq ha −1 respectively. The higher CF per unit of organic product is due to the lower yield per unit of area cultivated with organic farming and to the consequent attribution to a smaller amount of products of the GHG emissions generated in the field phase of the life cycle. Whereas, the CF per hectare is higher when conventional practices are applied due to the higher use of raw materials (higher seed density, agrochemicals for fertilization and plant protection) respect to the same organic system. Results of the study demonstrate that organic farming for wheat cultivation in Italy is a low-carbon agriculture with a lower contribution to climate change in terms of GHG emissions per hectare respect to the conventional wheat cultivation, although implications of the reduced productivity and the consequent need of more cultivated land should be considered. However, more research is needed to better explore the potential of organic farming and to improve organic food production, optimizing the balance between the use of resources and yields, to ensure sufficient organic food supply at global level. A more comprehensive assessment of the actual GHG emitted in the atmosphere from both organic and conventional agricultural systems can be provided when the CF is assessed per unit of area, in addition to the CF per product unit, especially if also the carbon sink of the agrosystem is included. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to provide an overview about the distribution of the environmental impacts arising from different domestic functions (i.e. storing and preparing food, washing dishes, watching television, reading, personal cleaning, washing, drying and ironing clothes, home cleaning, heating, cooling, lighting and mobility) typically performed within a common family home. The method has general validity but for reasons related to the availability of data in the literature it has been applied by way of example only in three EU countries: Italy, Germany and France. The study was performed by using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in accordance with international standard ISO 14067 for determining the carbon footprint of different alternative domestic components, mainly appliances, for each function, by exclusively exploiting data from scientific literature. The functional unit is defined comprising all most common referred domestic activities of a family of three members within a house of 100 m2. The study identified an optimal configuration and a worse one of the domestic components in terms of carbon footprint, showing how a wise choice of these can greatly affect the overall impact by reducing it compared to the worst by more than 22% in Italy, 45% in Germany and 56% in France. The average impacts between the optimal and the worst configurations of Germany are higher than Italy (+27%) and France (+44%). Considering the impacts among the domestic functions in the average configuration, mobility was the most impactful in all the three countries (35–48%), followed by heating (17–26%), personal cleaning (10–13%) and washing dishes (8–13%), while cooling is consistent only in Italy (13%), against 5% in Germany and 2% in France. The study also allowed to identify some generic criteria for defining the optimal configuration: the increasing in energy efficiency, the choice of the least impacting energy source depending on the geographical location, ensuring water savings and the early replacement of older domestic components. Finally, by comparing some common measures for improving the domestic sustainability, these criteria proved to be more effective than solar systems and improved electricity mix. The provided outcomes may be used by manufacturers for improving their product in a more sustainable way as well as by legislator and end user, respectively for boosting and choosing the greener domestic components. Image 1 • LCA for estimating domestic environmental impacts based on scientific literature. • Application to three EU countries: Italy, Germany and France. • Assessing Carbon Footprint of different alternative domestic components for each domestic function. • Determining the optimal and the worst configuration of domestic components to minimize the impacts. • Comparing possible improvements for minimizing carbon footprint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]