MSW selective collection in a tourist area: an Italian case-study

The administration of a tourist district commissioned the University of Trento an optimization study of the MSW collection. At the beginning of the collaboration, the main problems in the district were: in the residual MSW a significant food waste amount was still present; there was a critical misuse of collection areas on public streets; the representatives of the seven towns had different orientations regarding waste management; the significant presence of "second houses" was not specifically faced with. The new selective collection system should be based on the principle of homogenization: in the old towns (historic centers) and for the second houses a generalized curbside collection for residual MSW and food waste was analyzed, completed with street side containers. Concerning the other users and fractions, two different selective collection systems were taken into account: curbside or street side ones. Both systems, coupled with an efficient awareness path, can lead to good results. A subsequent optimization of the identification of the downtown area in the seven municipality involved resulted compulsory. The final political decision, presently in progress, required an economic evaluation