The paper contributes to the debate concerning the management of municipal solid waste by providing an analysis of two key aspects of waste management - namely, waste separation and dispatch to treatment plants. Our analysis aims at detecting the extent to which actual behavior in (close-by) municipalities is similar with respect to those two aspects. To pursue our scope, a complex network approach is followed. In particular, we conceptualize, explore and compare two networks, whose nodes are the municipalities, while weights synthesize in one network the percentage of sorted waste that is collected at a municipal level, and in the other one the distance from the waste processing plants used by each municipality. The theoretical network models are implemented through an empirical study based on a high quality dataset referred to Italian municipalities. In this regard, the detection of communities of municipalities and their geospatial contextualization are introduced as devices for a complete description of current practices of municipal waste separation and transfers in Italy.

Municipal waste management: A complex network approach with an application to Italy

Minervini, L. F.
2021-01-01

Abstract

The paper contributes to the debate concerning the management of municipal solid waste by providing an analysis of two key aspects of waste management - namely, waste separation and dispatch to treatment plants. Our analysis aims at detecting the extent to which actual behavior in (close-by) municipalities is similar with respect to those two aspects. To pursue our scope, a complex network approach is followed. In particular, we conceptualize, explore and compare two networks, whose nodes are the municipalities, while weights synthesize in one network the percentage of sorted waste that is collected at a municipal level, and in the other one the distance from the waste processing plants used by each municipality. The theoretical network models are implemented through an empirical study based on a high quality dataset referred to Italian municipalities. In this regard, the detection of communities of municipalities and their geospatial contextualization are introduced as devices for a complete description of current practices of municipal waste separation and transfers in Italy.
2021
Elsevier Ltd
Internazionale
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
Minervini-Cerqueti-Cinelli_2021_Waste management.pdf

solo utenti autorizzati

Tipologia: Versione editoriale (versione pubblicata con il layout dell'editore)
Licenza: DRM non definito
Dimensione 4.24 MB
Formato Adobe PDF
4.24 MB Adobe PDF   Visualizza/Apri   Richiedi una copia

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/11393/282866
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus 13
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 12
social impact