Abstract
Nowadays, waste-to-energy (WtE) is considered the most effective disposal system for nonrecyclable materials. There is general concern with regard to potential environmental and health risks connected with WtE plants. Data from epidemiological studies, conducted since the 1980s, had shown that old-generation plants have a negative environmental impact. Owing to innovations in both technology and methodology involved in waste processing, new-generation WtE plants have considerably mitigated such negative impact.
The aim of the study is to assess how legislation, technological innovation, and mitigation strategies can help and reduce the repercussions that waste-to-energy might have on both the environment and people’s health.
The first step in this study consisted in investigating the current European and Italian legislation, as well as the operating mechanisms and technologies available to mitigate environmental impacts. Successively, the second step consisted in verifying their actual effectiveness when applied to the most recent plants. In particular, ten modern incinerations, new or restored in the last decade, were examined in detail.
The case studies’ analysis and their comparison showed that, when adequately submitted to a health impact assessment (HIA) and in presence of valid monitoring plans, the most advanced facilities are able to keep emissions way below the limits prescribed by the law, mitigating environmental and health impacts. In addition, the study highlighted some areas of possible future interventions and actions.
Finally, the outcome of the research is to propose a set of guidelines, legal tools, and appropriate technologies, as exportable and scalable healthy strategies in several contexts.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
A. Ballarini, M. Bedeschi, F. Bianchi, et al., La Valutazione di Impatto sulla Salute: Un Nuovo Strumento a Supporto delle Decisioni (Quaderni di Moniter, Bologna, 2010)
M. Buffoli, S. Capolongo, V. Loconte, et al., Thermovalorization: New technologies, impacts and mitigation strategies. Ann. Ig. 24(2), 167–178 (2012)
M. Buffoli, S. Capolongo, A. Odone, et al., Salute e Ambiente: Igiene Edilizia, Urbanistica e Ambientale (EdiSES, Napoli, 2016a)
M. Buffoli, A. Odone, J. Leask, et al., Not in my back yard (NIMBY), an endemic syndrome influencing environmental policies. Epidemiol. Biostat. Public Health 13(4), e11256-1–e11256-2 (2016b). https://doi.org/10.2427/11256
S. Candela, Studio degli Effetti sulla Salute nei Soggetti Esposti alle Emissioni degli Inceneritori (ARPA Regione Emilia Romagna, Bologna, 2010)
S. Candela, L. Bonvicini, A. Ranzi, et al., Exposure to emissions from municipal solid waste incinerators and miscarriages: A multisite study of the MONITER Project. Environ. Int. 78, 51–60 (2015)
S. Capolongo, M. Buffoli, A. Oppio, How to assess the effects of urban plans on environment and health. Territorio 73, 145–151 (2015)
S. Capolongo, N. Lemaire, A. Oppio, et al., Action planning for healthy cities: The role of multi-criteria analysis, developed in Italy and France, for assessing health performances in land-use plans and urban development projects. Epidemiol. Prev. 40(3–4), 257–264 (2016). https://doi.org/10.19191/EP16.3-4.P257.093
S. Capolongo, A. Rebecchi, M. Dettori, et al., Healthy design and urban planning strategies, actions, and policy to achieve salutogenic cities. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 15(12), 2698 (2018). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15122698
S. Capolongo, M. Buffoli, A. Brambilla, et al., Healthy urban planning & design strategies to improve urban quality and attractiveness of places. TECHNE 19, 271–279 (2020). https://doi.org/10.13128/techne-7837
S. Cernuschi, M. Giugliano, S. Consonni, Emissioni di polveri fini e ultrafini da impianti di combustione Sintesi Finale. Piacenza (2010)
T. Cole-Hunter, F.H. Johnston, F.H. Marks, et al., The health impacts of waste-to-energy emissions: A systematic review of the literature. Environ. Res. Lett. 11, 231 (2020)
D. D’Alessandro, S. Arletti, A. Azara, et al., Strategies for disease prevention and health promotion in urban areas: The Erice 50 Charter. Ann. Ig. 29(6), 481–493 (2017). https://doi.org/10.7416/ai.2017.2179
E. De Titto, A. Savino, Environmental and health risks related to waste incineration. Waste Manag. Res. 37(10), 976 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1177/0734242X19859700
European Commission, Best Available Techniques (BAT) Reference Document for Waste Incineration. JRC for Policy Report (European Commission, Brussels, 2019)
European Environmental Agency, Waste generation in Europe (2019). Retrieved from: https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/waste-generation-4/assessment
European Parliament, Directive 2008/98/EC of 19 November 2008 on Waste and Repealing Certain Directives (Official Journal of European Union, Brussels, 2008)
European Parliament, Directive 2010/75/EU of 24 November 2010 on Industrial Emissions (Official Journal of European Union, Brussels, 2010)
European Parliament, Directive 2018/851 of 30 May 2018 Amending Directive 2008/98/EC on Waste (Official Journal of European Union, Brussels, 2018)
V. Foà, Possibili Impatti Sanitari degli Inceneritori e di Termovalorizzatori. Raccolta Differenziata e Termovalorizzazione: Un Modello Integrato (AMSA, Milano, 2008)
F. Forastiere, C. Badaloni, K. de Hoogh, et al., Health impact assessment of waste management facilities in three European countries. Environ. Health 2, 10–53 (2011)
M. Franchini, M. Rial, E. Buiatti, et al., Health effects of exposure to waste incinerator emissions: A review of epidemiological studies. Ann. Ist. Super. Sanita 40(1), 101–115 (2004)
M. Giuliano, S. Cernuschi, La valutazione quantitativa del rischio di inquinanti atmosferici tossici e persistenti: il caso dell’incenerimento di rifiuti solidi. Provincia Autonoma di Trento (1991)
ISPRA, Rapporto Rifiuti Urbani 2019 (Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale, Roma, 2019)
S. Kaza, L. Yao, P. Bhada-Tata, et al., What a Waste 2.0: A Global Snapshot of Solid Waste Management to 2050, Urban development series (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2018)
A. Kumar, S.R. Samadder, A review on technological options of waste to energy for effective management of municipal solid waste. Waste Manag. 69, 407–422 (2017)
M. Meneses, M. Schuhmacher, J.L. Domingo, Health risk assessment of emissions of dioxins and furans from a municipal waste incinerator: Comparison with other emission sources. Environ. Int. 30(4), 481–489 (2004)
L. Morselli, C. De Robertis, J. Luzi, et al., Environmental impacts of waste incineration in a regional system (Emilia Romagna, Italy) evaluated from a life cycle perspective. J. Hazard. Mater. 159(2–3), 505–511 (2008)
L. Morselli, F. Passarini, L. Piccari, et al., Risk assessment applied to air emissions from a medium-sized Italian MSW incinerator. Waste Manag. Res. 29(Suppl 10), 48–56 (2011)
National Research Council, Waste Incineration and Pubic Health (National Academy press, Washington, DC, 2000)
A. Oppio, M. Dell’Ovo, Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) and multi-criteria analysis: An integrated approach. Green Energy Technol. 2020, 47–63 (2020)
A. Oppio, S. Corsi, S. Mattia, et al., Exploring the relationship among local conflicts and territorial vulnerability: The case study of Lombardy Region. Land Use Policy 43, 239–247 (2015)
D. Porta, S. Milani, A.I. Lazzarino, et al., Systematic review of epidemiological studies on health effects associated with management of solid waste. Environ. Health 8, 60 (2009)
A. Rabl, J.V. Spadaro, A. Zoughaib, Environmental impacts and costs of solid waste: A comparison of landfill and incineration. Waste Manag. Res. 26(2), 147–162 (2008)
D. Salimbeni, B. Pezzella, Nuovo impianto di termovalorizzazione rifiuti urbani di Via Silla (Milano). Rifiuti Solidi 6, 342–352 (2000)
N. Scarlat, F. Fahl, J. Dallemand, Status and opportunities for energy recovery from municipal solid waste in Europe. Waste Biomass Valori. 10, 2425–2444 (2019)
C. Signorelli, M. Riccò, M. Vinceti, Waste incinerator and human health: A state-of-the-art review. Ann. Ig. 20(3), 251–277 (2008)
F. Valerio, Environmental impacts of post-consumer material managements: Recycling, biological treatments, incineration. Waste Manag. 30(11), 2354–2361 (2010)
P.T. Williams, Waste Treatment and Disposal (Wiley, West Sussex, 2005)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this entry
Cite this entry
Buffoli, M., Rebecchi, A., Signorelli, C., Capolongo, S. (2022). Waste-to-Energy as a Method of Refuse Disposal: An Analysis of Sustainable Technologies and Their Environmental Impact. In: Baskar, C., Ramakrishna, S., Baskar, S., Sharma, R., Chinnappan, A., Sehrawat, R. (eds) Handbook of Solid Waste Management. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-4230-2_85
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-4230-2_85
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-16-4229-6
Online ISBN: 978-981-16-4230-2
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences