Publications

By Nickolas J. Themelis Waste Management World, p. 37-44, July-August 2007 Global growth of traditional and novel thermal treatment technologies.

Italy is a European country with population of 58.5 million. It is divided into 20 regions that can be aggregated in three macro-geographical areas (North, Center and South). The generation of municipal solid wastes (MSW) in Italy in 2004 was 31.1 million metric tones. The source - separated collection of recyclables and compostables was 22.7% of the total MSW production. However, the situation is very different between the macro-geographical areas of Italy: the North has reached a value of 35.5%, the Center 18.3% and the South 8.1%.

Methane gas is a by-product of landfilling municipal solid wastes (MSW). Most of the global MSW is dumped in non-regulated landfills and the generated methane is emitted to the atmosphere. Some of the modern regulated landfills attempt to capture and utilize landfill biogas, a renewable energy source, to generate electricity or heat. As of 2001, there were about one thousand landfills collecting landfill biogas worldwide.