Life Cycle Assessment) in Disaster Waste Management: Emilia-Romagna Earthquake, an Italian Case Study
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XVIII Summer School "Francesco Turco" - Industrial Mechanical Plants LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) in Disaster Waste Management: Emilia-Romagna Earthquake, an Italian case study Battini Daria*, Peretti Umberto*, Persona Alessandro*, Sgarbossa Fabio* * Department of Management and Engineering (DTG), University of Padua, Stradella S. Nicola, 3, I-36100 Vicenza - Italy ([email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]) Abstract: Purpose As recently discussed in the literature, an overwhelming amount of waste is normally left after a disaster (Brown C. O., 2012). Earthquakes, in particular, generate shock waves and displace the ground along fault lines. These seismic forces can bring down buildings and bridges in a localized area and damage buildings and other structures in a far wider area. The aim of this research is to study a real Italian case that is occurring nowadays. The purpose is to evaluate the reverse network performances in terms of LCA in accordance with different waste management strategies by computing the total waste management cost. Design/methodology/approach This work is mainly based on the data coming from the Earthquake occurred in Northern Italy on May 2012, when two major earthquakes occurred, causing 26 deaths and widespread damage. The Regional officials are currently collecting and managing debris flows and the data reflects the incredible amount of waste generated. Several months have been and will be necessary to manage the debris removal process. This work investigates the management of the most important waste material: the construction and demolition materials. We evaluate by a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) point of view a set of optional strategies based on different options. Originality/value Disaster waste management is a well-recognized problem belonging to the humanitarian logistics research area. Experience shows that disaster waste can’t be managed by standard disposal options but often requires an ad hoc manner. However, by a logistic flow management point of view, a substantial improvement can be made in future response efforts. Moreover reducing and recycling these materials permit to conserve landfill space, reduce the environmental impact of producing new materials, create jobs, and can reduce overall building project expenses through avoiding purchase/disposal costs. Based on our knowledge this approach has never been faced before in the literature in order to evaluate different solutions in a post disaster situation. LCA approach usually does not consider a sudden-high level of flow materials, typically post disaster issue; moreover the study presents an Italian case in order to fix the research with a real example. Keywords: LCA, earthquake, real case 1. Introduction jobs, and can reduce overall building project expenses through avoiding purchase/disposal costs. Earthquake waste includes construction and demolition materials consisting of the debris generated during the The proposed work investigates the management of the construction, renovation, and demolition of buildings, most important waste materials: the construction and roads, and bridges. This kind of waste often contains demolition material. We evaluate by a Life Cycle bulky, heavy materials, such as concrete, wood, metals, Assessment (LCA) point of view a set of optional glass, and salvaged building components. Moreover, it’s strategies starting from the one used by the authorities. always necessary to clean and separate different waste Life cycle assessment (LCA) is the methodology used to materials coming from the same point and manage the compare these scenarios for debris waste management in mixed waste not separable. Reducing and recycling these some municipalities in Emilia Romagna, Italy after the materials permit to conserve landfill space, reduce the earthquake that hit the region on May 2012. The model environmental impact of producing new materials, creates considers the following input data as a) the collection vehicles and waste containers applied in the area 166 XVIII Summer School "Francesco Turco" - Industrial Mechanical Plants (excavators, trucks), b) the landfill number, location and waste, and to identify critical factors in the systems” capacity, c) the amount of waste generated (in tons) and (Finnveden G. et al., 2000). In this area the authors decide the waste generation points geographical location, d) the to apply the LCA on waste management associate to a recycling plant number, e) landfill capacity and disaster since in the last decades the disaster waste is a geographical location. well-recognized problem belonging to the humanitarian logistics research area. For example according to Reinhart 2. Literature Review and McCreanor (1999) and Brown C. (2012) the debris Our literature review is focused on three main areas that volumes from a single event can be the equivalent of five are faced in the article. These areas are the waste to fifteen times the annual waste generation rates of the management, the life cycle assessment (LCA) and the affected community. This situation leads to consider the application of these two areas situations associated to flow of waste in Post Disaster state as a complicated issue disasters, in situations where “when a disaster strikes, to process. This leads us to consider LCA in waste especially in densely populated areas, huge amounts of manage in order to consider a good solution in terms of construction waste and other kinds of wastes are suddenly environmental impact for the debris management after a produced, demanding immediate attention” (Lauritzen, E. disaster. K. 1998). This research is motivated by Kovacs and Spens (2011) The waste management is a topic broadly dealt with in the because they present the future gaps associated to the literature (Pires, A. et al., 2011, Wilson, D.C. 2007). It Humanitarian Supply Chain, where the environmental considers the management associated to a high range of sustainability is one of the most important. Moreover refuses such as solid waste (Metin, E. et al., 2003, Manaf, Barrett et al. (2007) underline how could be important L.A. et al., 2009) with focus on radioactive waste integrate the environmental dimension into humanitarian (Holdren, J.P., 1992) or toxic waste (Derrington, J.A., programmes and operations. As has been suggested by 1988) or construction demolition debris waste (Lee, S. et Carrasco-Gallego et al. (2013), since the researches on this al., 2006). All these typologies of waste streams generated issue applied to humanitarian contests are few this by a disaster have been classified recently by Brown C. O. research wants to cover this gap introducing the LCA of et al. (2011). Moreover the authors propose a classification an humanitarian issue and studying different solutions for that is focused on three main areas: Planning, Waste disaster responses finding the different environmental Characterization and Treating Waste. The planning impacts in function of the different processes. The considers the difference between the waste management innovation associated to this study concerns the in developed (Boyle C.A., 2000) and in developing integration of the environmental dimension in post countries (Wilson, D.C. et al. 2006, Manga, V.E. et al. disaster operations, studying a real Italian case and 2008, Karunasena et al, 2012, Guerrero, L.A. et al., 2013), proposing the best solution in terms of environmental the waste characterization, which considers the features impact. associated to scarp, in particular composition (as introduced above) and quantities. The waste treating is 3. Research methodologies categorized in the different options such as recycling, This work investigates the management of the most temporary staging sites and disposal. Brown C. O. et al. important waste materials in post disaster area: the (2011) present a qualitative specification of Waste construction and demolition materials. We evaluate by a management activities without facing the environmental Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) point of view a set of impact of different strategies. optional strategies based on different options; all the In order to evaluate different options of Waste options concern the utilization of the waste as landfill management, following the rules presented by Brown C. materials, in order to cover open landfills. The landfill O. et al. (2011), and their application to different scenarios covering has been found out as an important issue and, the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has been used as since the high presence of the construction and evaluation tool. LCA is a tool used “to assess the demolition material, its solution takes a primary environmental impacts and resources used throughout a importance in order to solve both the problem: high wave product's life cycle, i.e., from raw material acquisition, via of debris and landfill covering problem (Bonomo and production and use phases, to waste management” Casazza, 2013). The features of the flow can change in (Finnveden, G., et al., 2009), and makes possible to terms of distances or materials density, but the flow compare the potential environmental impacts of these considered is always the one proposed in figure 1. In this options. According to Cherubini et al. (2009) this tool paper just the utilization for landfill covering is considered provides an overview of the environmental aspects of while the other possibilities are resumed in future different waste management strategies. According to research. Clavreul,