Sustainability diagnosis of alternative technologies for the management of agri-food and urban waste

Abstract

In a context of continued population growth and urbanisation, together with intensified production and consumption patterns, the generation and proper management of solid waste has become a real challenge worldwide.In this context, the main objective of this thesis was to evaluate the environmental sustainability of different alternatives for the management of waste coming from both agricultural and urban sectors, including conventional practices and advanced technologies. To this aim, the principles of the LCA methodology were commonly applied to some particular waste management situations (case studies), in combination with other internationally recognised assessment tools. In this regard, social participation and economic viability were also integrated with environmental outcomes to respond to the constraints of waste management decision-making. According to the results, it can be concluded that, although many environmental impacts have already been avoided and/or minimised, waste management still remains a criticial issue, so that additional efforts should be placed to expand technologies and mitigation strategies to preserve environmental and public welfare.