7th SYMPOSIUM ON CIRCULAR ECONOMY AND URBAN MINING
CAPRI, ITALY / 15-16-17 MAY 2024

Workshop: Role of sink in Circular Economy

SESSION D08 / Glass Room / 20 May 2022 / 9:00 - 10:00
Workshop: Role of sink in Circular Economy
Chair / Presidente: Raffaello Cossu (IT)

Several waste materials, further to reusables and the traditional fractions of  MSW which are normally considered in source segregation programs (plastics, paper, 
cardboard, glass containers, cans, putrescibles, etc.), are being increasingly considered for recovery, reuse or recycling as urban resources. But waste which cannot be recycled, or materials after several recycling loops, still need to be disposed in a sustainable way and should find a safe sink, where contaminants should be immobilized and controlled. allowing to close the material loops in Circular Economy, as it happens in any biogeochemical circle.

The role of sink can be played by different alternatives (e.g. agriculture soil receiving compost, buildings and roads receiving stabilizes ashes, landfilling) and can be summarized with the concept of Back to Earth Alternatives (BEA).
The sinks must be sustainable which means that adverse impact (eg. leaching of contaminants, mechanical instability, etc.) should be avoided.
Normal landfills, constructed according to actual legislations, are not sustainable.

A sustainable landfill should be properly designed including pretreatment and in situ treatment, aimed to reach a Final Quality standards set for respecting environmental sustainability. This goal should be supported by deeply updated EU and national regulations.