RECOVER international n. 36

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ITALY AS POSSIBLE EUROPEAN LEADER IN THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY OF WASTE

THE SITUATION OF THE HAZARDOUS WASTE MARKET IN ITALY AND EUROPE

RENEWABLES: INVESTMENTS FALLING IN EUROPE BUT RISING IN THE REST OF THE WORLD

SUPPLEMENT

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HOW SUSTAINABLE IS TOURISM?

E D I T O R I A L

As autumn approaches, people get back to work and, unfortunately, vacations are over for most everyone: the beach, the mountains, cruises and uncontaminated locales are all chosen destinations for spending the summer holidays and getting away from home, for some more than others. In the last few years, there are an increasing number of people – thanks as well to economic development of heavily populated countries like China and India – who are able to take holidays.

They all want to see and visit the most beautiful, most uncontaminated places in the world, especially before these locales are ruined by even more pollution and overcrowding. However, in all of this, we don’t realize that it is tourism itself that is the first cause of the decline and pollution of the most sought-after tourism destinations in the world. Based on data from a few years ago included in the “Consumption and Environment 2012” report, a document put out by the European Union to monitor consumption in Europe and the consequences for the environment, tourism is the fourth leading cause of environmental pollution and the production of CO2, after food and drink, housing and mobility. Tourism means economic development and growth, but the legacy of these positive elements is often harsh. The most beautiful tourism destinations in the world are being compromised by the emissions created by traveling by car or plane, waste from the comforts we can’t do without, the absence of systems for managing wastewater in villages and the use of water resources.

The list is long, but places that stand out on this list include Machu Picchu, the Great Barrier Reef, the big African parks, Antarctica, the Great Wall of China and the Taj Mahal, all places that, if we haven’t visited yet, we’d like to do so sooner or later. Now, aside from the harsh rhetoric from some about stopping tourists from visiting these beautiful places in order to preserve them, there are various initiatives that are putting the focus on ever more sustainable tourism. Some models of sustainable management have been applied to tourism destinations in countries that are still developing, and the results have been excellent. Methods have been adopted to reduce consumption, manage waste and water resources and change certain behaviors – methods that are not so different from what we typically present in our magazine. The next step would be to apply the concept of sustainable tourism to the most visited places in the world, places that require a great deal of effort to maintain the future of their amazing beauty intact.

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CONTE NTS

Picture © designed by Freepik

RECOVER international II Semester – September 2016 Supplement 2 Issue 36 www.recoverweb.it

CONTENTS NEWS 4 The circular economy of waste Massimo Viarenghi

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Brazil calls, Italy responds

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Best practice in reasonable, sustainable waste management policies

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Trevi benne, XXL!

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Renewables: investments falling in europe but rising in the rest of the world

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Laura Veneri

Maeva Brunero Bronzin

Maria Beatrice Celino

Bruno Vanzi

What’s so “special”? 23 Laura Veneri

Good starting position for IFAT India 2016

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From organic waste to biocoal

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Maria Beatrice Celino

Laura Veneri

FOCUS 30 EVENTS 32

O N T E N T S BEST PRACTICE IN REASONABLE, SUSTAINABLE WASTE MANAGEMENT POLICIES: TIGER HS 640 IN THE ANAEROBIC DIGESTION PLANT OF NERA MONTORO

A NEW PATENTED TECHNOLOGY THAT RECYCLE ORGANIC WASTE BY CONVERTING IT INTO A COAL THAT HAS THE SAME TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS AS LIGNITE

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28 AFTER THE SUCCESS AT BAUMA TREVI BENNE IS READY TO TAKE ON THE NEW YEAR WITH IMPORTANT FAIRS, A WHOLE NEW RANGE OF PRODUCTS AND A PRODUCTION EXPANSION

17 Translations: Gengo, Inc. Subscriptions: Italy € 40,00/year - Abroad € 75,00/year Single copy € 12,00 - Back issues € 14,00/each For subscriptions, email your request to: info@deaedizioni.it

Year 9 - Supplement 2 - Issue 36 - September 2016 Editor in Chief: Massimo Viarenghi Commercial Manager: Maria Beatrice Celino Editorial Coordination: Maeva Brunero Bronzin

Liability: the duplication of illustrations and articles published by the magazine is confidential and cannot occur without express authorization by the Publisher. Texts and pictures sent to the editorial staff will not be returned, even if not published, and the Publisher does not assume liability in the case of unique specimens. The Publisher does not assume liability in cases of possible mistakes contained in the articles published or of mistakes made when delivering them on the magazine.

Staff: Maria Beatrice Celino, Bruno Vanzi, Laura Veneri Technical Review Committee: Maria Rosaria Boni (Sapienza University of Rome) Daniele Cazzuffi (Cesi spa – Remtech) Laura D’Aprile (ISPRA, Rome) Ennio Forte (University of Naples) Luciano Morselli (University of Bologna) Andrea Quaranta (Environmental Legal Expert) Gian Luigi Soldi (Metropolitan City of Turin) Federico Vagliasindi (University of Catania) Maria Chiara Zanetti (Polytechnic University of Turin)

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NEWS EARTHQUAKES AND ASBESTOS: TRAGEDY AND RISK The August 24th earthquake was not only a tragedy for the great many deaths and the destruction it caused, but also for the real risk and danger resulting from the dispersal of asbestos fiber caused by the collapse of so many buildings.

some way, including with the use of sheets of plastic, until it can be taken away. Another thing that can be done is to give workers disposable coveralls and masks to prevent them from inhaling any dust or asbestos fiber. Taking these preventive measures is the only way for emergency-response crews and those who will come for the reclamation work to avoid exposure to this dust and asbestos fiber.”

TWO BILLION EUROS FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

It is estimated that there is some 17.5 metric tons per square kilometer of asbestos in the Lazio region alone, so the risk of contamination following the earthquake is great. Confirming this fact, Ezio Bonanni, head of Italy’s National Asbestos Observatory (ONA), said, “Given the extensive use of asbestos in construction, in building systems and other building furnishings generally prior to 1992, and given the absence of any legal reclamation obligation, this same situation recurs every time there is an earthquake. This is because, as the material breaks apart and disperses the carcinogenic minerals it contains into the air, the risk of contamination increases to excessive levels. The area at greatest risk is that of the industrial buildings around Rieti, but the danger is, of course, everywhere.”

Therefore, it is essential to take any and all preventive measures to ensure that this tragedy goes no further. As Bonanni underscored, “Because there is no threshold beneath which there is no longer a cancer risk, given that all it takes are a few fibers to trigger mesothelioma, it is necessary to avoid any form of exposure to this carcinogenic material.

Thus it is absolutely essential to spray water on any rubble that contains asbestos and then isolate it in

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The 2014-2020 programming for the Sviluppo e Coesione (Development and Cohesion) funds for the environment was given the go-ahead at the meeting of the Interministerial Committee for Economic Planning (CIPE) held in Palazzo Chigi on August 10th. Totaling nearly two billion euros, 800 million of this funding has been earmarked for the reclamation of landfills and other sites of national interest.

The areas that have been targeted by priority plans are the reclamation of landfills and sites of national interest, soil protection, water purification and management, waste management, green infrastructure in protected parks and marine areas, and the energy efficiency of public buildings.

A total of 826 million euros, over 40% of all funding earmarked for the environment, will be going to priority reclamation of landfills and sites of national interest, ranging from sites that present some of the most critical issues to those that were the subject of a ruling against Italy by the Court of Justice of the European Union. The criteria set by the Department of Environmental Protection within Italy’s Ministry for the Environment concern the level of risk to health and to the environment, the nearness of target sites to urban and residential areas, sites that have been found to be unlawful and those that are under investigation. The plan also calls for the funding of projects to survey asbestos in school buildings.

The plan prepared by the Department of Waste and Pollution calls for 135 million euros in waste-related projects, over 98 million of which for thirteen projects for completing, integrating and increasing the efficiency of waste management and related systems.

Another 31 million will be going to the closure and adaptation of 17 landfills that are currently the subject of a preliminary procedure by the EU. A total of 274 million euros has been earmarked for soil protection and 606 million for water resources and purification measures, which are needed in order to settle major EU proceedings concerning waste water and to close gaps in the field of water purification, beginning with the regions of central and southern Italy where there is still no fully operational water-management system.

This goal has been reached in six of the 14 data centers that Google owns around the world.

The facilities that no longer send waste to landfills are located in Ireland, Finland, Belgium, Taiwan and Singapore, in addition to the U.S. data center in Oklahoma.

“Zero waste to landfill requires a careful attention to the types of materials you’re generating and a deep understanding of your resource pathways,” Google underscores. “All these learnings allow us to keep pushing towards zero waste to landfill, but also to start looking upstream to add circular economy practices into our operations. Zero waste to landfill is just the first step.”

FROM SEWER TO FUEL TANK

GOOGLE’S ZERO-WASTE DATA CENTERS It isn’t just about energy efficiency. In order to make their data centers more sustainable, Google is committed to making them “zero-waste-to-landfill” facilities. As the company has explained on their blog, “when waste leaves [their] data centers, none of it goes to a landfill-100 percent is diverted to a more sustainable pathway, with no more than 10% of it going to a waste-to-energy facility, unless wasteto-energy can be proved more valuable than alternative diversion paths.”

The company in charge of water, sewer and water treatment in the metropolitan city of Milan - the CAP Group - is changing the function of their near 60 treatment plants into biorefinieries and revalue all (plentiful) Milanese waste water.

According to studies by CAP technicians, it is estimated that the Bresso water treatment plant alone could generate an annual production of biomethanol of 341,640kg, enough to power 416 vehicles for 20,000km a year: an overall total of 8,320,000km, equivalent to 200 Earth circumferences. Substantial savings are evident also thanks to production costs of 0.58 €/kg, considerably lower than 0.9 €/kg, the price at which methane can be bought on the market.

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NEWS An early practical demonstration was held today, at an event for launching the Balance of sustainability, presented by Milanese utilities: thanks to technical collaboration from FCA it was powered by fuel produced from sewage waste that was treated at the actual Niguarda-Bresso facility. Biomethane, fertilizer, electric power are already realities and soon - a company communication says - it will be possible to extract nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen.

At the Cassano D’Adda treatment plant an experiment in fertilizer production is taking place, while from the site north of Milan waters consigned to the purifier will provide fuel for hundreds of cars.

“Conversion of purifiers to biorefineries where new products come from dirty water, reopening canals and irrigation ditches built in medieval times to counter the impact of heavy rainstorms, implementation of the most futuristic technologies for managing drinking water and the water table. Are all pieces of the sustainability jigsaw which CAP is creating with large collaboration from institutions and stakeholders”, Alessandro Russo commented, president of CAP Group. One more step was taken today: Milan will host the birth of the first local sourced Italian methane distributor - the utility assures - from which it will soon be possible to refuel from gas produced from the metropolitan city’s sewage.

HOW TO EXTRACT GOLD FROM WEEE

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Tucked in some drawer or unseen in our basements, or in even worse cases in our landfills, a piece of an enormous treasure lies hidden: Edinburgh University estimates our worldwide waste of electronic and electrical equipment, called WEEE, contains around 7% of the world’s gold reserves (a very conservative estimate), along with other many valuable elements.

Not coincidentally, a country with an affinity for electronics - Japan - is on a drive to extract some of the precious metal that is required to make the medals for the next Olympics, being held in Japan.

However, the implications of making these medals are in the environmental costs of the operation.

Although are certainly small compared to raw material extraction, they are by no means innocuous; in order to recover gold from electronic waste using conventional methods frequently means using substances that are hazardous to health such as cyanide.

Science is, nevertheless, making progress in this field, and the latest - in chronological order - comes from a young student from the State Industrial Technical Institute “G. & M. Montani” of Fermo, Carlo Castelli. He is the winner of the sixth edition of the “InvFactor - you too are a genius!” competition for “inventors” from high schools, which was organized by the Institute for research on Population and Social Policies of the National Research Council (Irpps-Cnr), and promoted by EU representatives in Italy of “EuFactor”.

Castelli entered the competition with a method to extract gold from electrical and electronic waste that minimises the extraction’s impact: “This process for the prevention of extraction of metals other than gold, innovative as well as not dangerous to the environment,“ explains the student, “uses a ferric chloride (FeCl3) compound to act as an oxidizer without letting off toxic fumes and hydrochloric acid (HCl) as an oxidation catalyzer.” A winning idea.

“Out of 80 entries, 20 have been selected as finalists to InvFactor 2016, coming to the National Research Council from the north to the south of Italy, that have covered issues pertaining to the environment, home automation, and disability, which lends evidence”, underlines Antonio Tintori, researcher for Cnr-Irpps and competition coordinator, “to a marked youth sensibility, in particular to issues such as problems for the aged and weaker social categories.”

A thermal insulator for construction obtained from plants and a robot that can administer medicines and glucose tests to old people were placed second and third from the winning inventions in the competition.

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THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY OF WASTE ITALY AS POSSIBLE EUROPEAN LEADER IN POLICIES OF RECOVERY AND REUSE OF WASTE AND SCRAP MATERIAL Massimo Viarenghi

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ircular economy is a neologism that is mainly used to describe any initiative that is related to recycling scrap and waste material. It is a concept based on the theory that any used material can be revived using technical and scientific solutions, incentivized and sustained by adequate legislative, economical and fiscal measures.

Thus, commercial businesses should mimic nature’s cycles; cycles where

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refuse does not exist. As waste from plant and animal life is turned into the raw material used by other forms of life thanks to decomposing organisms, this waste gets converted into other matter that forms nutrients for other plants and animals.

In Italy, new measures must be implemented to promote the concept of a circular economy. Alliances between citizens, organizations, and companies should be strengthened, with

the objective of creating a clearer perspective on Italian and international waste from the standpoint of technological and regulatory administration.

There are many stopping points preventing the circular economy of waste from taking off in Italy.

Among them are: enormous differences in regional management systems, criminal infiltration, obsolete plant design, and discrepancies in

data management on waste movement. Another constraint is due to the fact that there is marked over sizing in the waste management sector in Italy, specifically in the waste collection sector, where the number of personnel is higher than the European average. Waste management businesses have been and still are, at best an improper form of social welfare and, at worst a channel for client recruitment. These inefficiencies turn into additional service costs.

Another pocket of inefficiency is in relation to poor treatment quality.

Mechanical Biological Treatment (MTB) is only “biological” in two out of every three cases, the remaining cases consist of either treatment that is preliminary to incineration, or socalled shredding and sorting plant.

These have no real environmental or technological effects, they were created as an emergency measure, and have now become customary.

LACK OF WASTE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

An urban waste management system requires consistent and time-bound planning; current planning tools overlap each other, causing separate pockets of forced waste management control and also continuous deferred decision-making. All this is in favor of incumbent conventional operators and processing plant solutions that are inconsistent with goals. This has created an irrational system with the existence of areas with a plant surplus, along with areas that have no types of treatment at all. This list of inefficiencies includes legal considerations, although not in every case.

While ambitious legislation is certainly provided, its proper implementation is yet to take place because of continuous extensions and its being interpreted inconsistently. As an example, the obligation to pre-treat

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waste that is destined for landfill has been avoided, which has led to legitimizing the use of shredding and sorting plant and other “emergency” treatments which are not subject to monitored control.

Italy is in great need of policies and facilities for reuse and recycling, as well as a new system of incentives which would make prevention and recycling a cheaper option than landfills.

Therefore, policies promoting circular economies on national territory should be implemented. Although there are emergencies and criticalities, Italy has its house in order in becoming leader in European circular economy. In fact, experiences in sustainable waste management are becoming increasingly more frequent in municipalities that recycle (according to Legambiente there are 1,520 municipalities that champion recycling), experiences from public

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consortia and from virtuous companies representing an extraordinary experience of green economy.

There is a range of consolidated good practices that can already be leveraged. Milan, for example, tops the list of European cities (of more than one million inhabitants) in recycling collection. Italy, also, was the global forerunner in introducing a ban on non-recyclable single-use shopping bags, which brought about a significant increase in quality of collected organics and a minor rise in costs for treatment plants.

Our country is also ranked first for industrial recycling: during an industrial recycling campaign for 163 million tons of waste, Italy recovered 24.1 million tons, the highest total amount of all the countries involved. The metallurgic sector, as an example, is in the majority based on its use of scrap and secondary materials; the paper industry has no national cellulose production to draw from, so its production comes from waste paper; the made in Italy manufacturing industry has experience in the use of waste textile going back in history.

A MODEL TO ASPIRE TO

By focusing on these results, the disappointing scenario of inefficiencies and waste of land and material can be overcome, rebooting the waste management system and allowing it to become a driving force of our economy, of industry and of innovation. The inspiring principle is circular economy, an economy that is intended to be able to renew itself.

The objective is Waste End, an end to all landfill dumping of recyclable and biodegradable waste, a revolution

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which will impact not only landfills and incinerators but also the widest production model. It is a necessary measure, and so one that should reflect the new proposed community directive on waste, of which its principal objectives are: 1. achieve 70% material recycling from urban waste by 2030; 2. reduce landfill dumping by 25% by 2025; 3. a ban on landfill dumping of recyclable and biodegradable waste by 2025 and gradual zeroing of all land filling by 2030.

It is necessary that policies, initiatives, and measures that are to be implemented cover a wide range of areas. The first is about reduction.

The prevention in generation and reduction of waste is an ambitious priority, given that circa 30 million tons of urban refuse is generated. The objective of prevention is not limited to just implementing efficient waste management policies, but it also involves a change in preferences and choices by consumers, which goes

on to influence their culture and responsibilities. The extremely important role which culture plays has been confirmed by trends in waste generation in recent years, in which there was a reduction, driven by innovations in technology and in consumerism, such as digitalization, reducing use of graphic paper, rather than by public policy.

The second area where optimizations are needed is in the re-use sector, by aiming for an increase in reuse through exchange circuits as well as reevaluation of used products prior to becoming refuse, through recovery - repair or redesign - of products sent to refuse collection.

Improvements in this area could generate new entrepreneurship and create new employment opportunities, estimated at around 11,000 jobs in “reuse preparation” and in marketing. This would set in motion a market of €1.3 billion (from €300 currently). The third pillar is related to Smart Collection, generalizing current best practice in waste collection, combining residential collection by appointment and “reverse collection”, where waste is returned to the location where it was produced. By ensuring a rationalization of these collection systems a level of recovery (of recyclables) in excess of 80% could be achieved. If the ultimate objective is waste management in a circular economy then this would need an evaluation of residual waste, that is to say the quota of waste that cannot be recycled, as sorted waste collection and material recycling alone cannot close the circle. The fourth step concerns development in the preparation of recyclables and the industry of recyclables manufacturing. A myriad workflows originate

from the collection of sorted recyclables that in order to be valuated must, for the most part, be treated, selected, and qualified to become fit for recycling in industry. Reevaluating the collection of sorted waste requires a redoubling of effort: on one hand, it establishes a classification in the recyclables preparation industry, which would be composed of a collection of all the sorted waste treatment plants that are preliminary to industrial output, as well as all biological and agronomic recovery treatment plants; on the other hand, it creates new outlets for the recyclables manufacturing industry.

The importance of the development of these industrial links increases with greater numbers of recycling streams, and these links should be included during public planning of waste. It is paradoxical that the government should implement public policy around waste without also dealing with these plants, on which actual recycling of sorted and collected waste depends.

Massive use of incineration should be avoided because it creates more general emissions, especially emissions linked to climate change.

There are more efficient environmental alternatives that can be exploited.

The preferable option is carbon neutral energy conversion technology, that is to say, technology that emits no more CO 2 than the solution it replaces. This would follow with replacing fossil fuels that pollute the most, like for example pet-coke, which is used in cement plants. This field includes energy-based conversion of bio-based fractions that are derived from sorted waste collection, bringing about biogas recovery and

bio-ethanol conversion of cellulosebased materials. Construction of management plants should include the implementation of “resilient” systems, this would guarantee adaptability in production and consumption contexts, and thus prevent municipalities from being saddled with useless and costly white elephants.

It is important to phase out incineration plants that do not have efficient energy recovery lines, and put a freeze on building new ones. Landfills will become “mineral deposits” which are assigned to collect waste that is destined for processing and stable or mineralized waste only.

CONCLUSIONS

This could be the basis of a real revolution, transitioning into a scenario which would see: a reduction of

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waste that is destined to landfills, a doubling of sorted waste collection, a reduction in urban residual waste and an appeal to cut incineration by half. Aside from the benefits to the environment there is lower consumption of resource and land use and lower greenhouse gas emissions, there are economical benefits also, above all in a country that is already equipped with the strongest recycling industry in Europe.

This would help to contain overall costs in waste management systems, to start up new enterprises and to generate new employment.

Italy must take advantage of this opportunity to reinforce its manufacturing role and to gain ground on frontier territory, such as innovations in recycling services and the production of quality secondary raw materials. Overall, this transition towards a new paradigm - combined waste management and manufacture - could bring about a cost reduction with respect to urban waste management of around 20%. Waste management must be mainstreamed into the decision processes of public policy, as an important step towards the grandest concept of a sustainable city, a city which promotes the environment, efficiency, innovation, quality and competitiveness.

Finally, it is clear how, by starting with efficient management of waste, concrete improvements can be achieved in quality of life for people and the cities they live in, since efficient resource use would help our country in relaunching its own economy, while defending the environment and the health of all its citizens.

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BRAZIL CALLS, ITALY RESPONDS RIMINI FAIR AND ECOMONDO PROMOTE THE PRESENTATION OF ‘REPORT ON THE STATE OF REFUSE IN BRAZIL’ IN BOLOGNA Laura Veneri

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he South American country presents a prime development opportunity for the businesses that make up the Italian green economy. Rimini Fair, which has organized Fimai Ecomondo Brazil in San Paolo since 2015, and along with Ecomondo has been the landmark Expo for the Italian and European environmental sector for 20 years, is involved in bringing the two worlds together with a high possibility of mutual satisfaction.

For the last few days in Bologna, near the Emilia-Romagna headquarters, they’ve been talking about the business potential as part of a workshop promoted by Ecomondo. 25 of the top firms participated in the workshop, interested in the presentation of the ‘Report on the state of refuse in Brazil’ and the opportunity of collaboration between Italian firms and that of a rapidly growing market.

The research that was presented was

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commissioned by ICE Brazil and was carried out by Abrelpe (Associação Brasileira de Empresas de Limpeza Pública e Resíduos Especiais). Participating

in the presentation was Anna Pallante (Ice), Carlos Silva (CEO of Abrelpe) with researchers Gabriela Otero Sartini, Ruben Sacerdoti (Emilia-Romagna region),

Marco Ricci (CIC Italian Composting and Biogas Association) and Fabio Fava, President of Ecomondo’s Committee for Technology and Science.

“There are three fundamental things that make Brazil a good target for Italian green economy firms”, explained Gabriele Otero Sartini. “The first is that more than 65% of urban refuse in Brazil is handled by private firms. Secondly, their strategies include looking at the production of compost and biogas, which are sectors in which Italy is a word leader. Thirdly, the existence of urban areas in which new plants can be set up.” This sector in Brazil has an important dynamism.

It is ready to embrace plants that have reliable technology that takes into consideration processing costs, which are rather low in Brazil. The next edition of Fimai Ecomondo Brazil in San Paolo, and of Ecomondo at Rimini Fair, will be the last initial steps towards making this collaboration concrete, which is evidently possible.”

When it comes to refuse in Brazil, the total quantity of RSU (solid urban refuse) was just above 71 million metric tons in 2014. The relationship between the amount of refuse produced and the amount collected had an index of 90.6%, although there were marked discrepancies among the various geographical regions. A little more than 7 million metric tons of refuse, therefore, was not collected, having a destination that was either unknown or not in line with that

specified by legislation. (source: Research by Ice Brazil - Abrelpe) “There are very good prospects for collaboration between Italian and Brazilian companies”, confirmed Fabio Fava, President of the Cts of Ecomondo. “Considering the fact that the South American country has been outfitting itself with new and stringent rules and regulations on the environmental front, which are often in line with the regulations already in place in Europe, particularly with respect to safeguarding the environment and its resources, fractionation and valuation of refuse. This creates new requirements for research and innovation and therefore new market opportunities that are of interest for a country such as Italy that has already been through the same process in the last few years, and has companies ready to guide the launch with methods and tried and tested skills in the various fields that are regulated.”

Within sight of Fimai Ecomondo Brazil (October 4th – 6th 2016) and Ecomondo (November 8th – 11th 2016), Rimini Fair is planning meetings between professionals in order to support business agreements that in the course of the above-mentioned Fair will make use of the important opportunities that arise as a result of initiatives such as this one.

FIMAI ECOMONDO BRAZIL

The circular economy also leads in South America, thanks to Fimai Ecomondo Brazil, from October 4th to 6th at

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the North Expo Center in San Paolo.

This is the second edition of the trade show project that began with Rimini Fair’s acquisition of the Brazilian event. The project aims to raise awareness that this part of the world is rapidly maturing with respect to environmental sustainability.

The objective is to support them through supplying them with technologies that are already in use in Europe and with advanced scientific knowledge.

At Fimai Ecomondo Brazil there will be a collective of Italian firms organized

by ICE, the prestigious contribution of ISWA on the seminarial content, which will be added to the extent possible by Ecomondo’s Committee for Technology and Science, lead by Prof. Fabio Fava, and the valuable presence of the CIC - Italian Composting and Biogas Association.

Fimai Ecomondo Brazil is modeled after the Italian version, which among other events will celebrate its twenty-year anniversary at Rimini Fair from November 8th to 11th, with initiatives that link markets and knowledge through the year.

The relationship in the green sector between the South American country and made in Italy will go on getting stronger beyond Ecomondo 2016, at which a large delegation of professionals will be present to further cement the relationship, along with the most cutting-edge technology available in the international market.

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BEST PRACTICE IN REASONABLE, SUSTAINABLE WASTE MANAGEMENT POLICIES OPTIMIZED PROCESSES AND LOW COSTS IN THE ANAEROBIC DIGESTION PLANT OF NERA MONTORO THROUGH TIGER HS 640 Maeva Brunero Bronzin

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reenAsm S.r.l., a joint venture between TerniEnergia S.p.A. and ASM Terni S.p.A., manages an anaerobic digestion plant in Nera Montoro (TR, Italy), with energy recovery, and especially suited for the composting and biostabilization of organic matrix-based waste.

The plant has been running since 2012, being able to process up to 43,500 tons/year of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste produced by the integrated geographical area of Terni, the so-called ATI4 Terni. GreenAsm’s integrated system

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allows to recover energy through the anaerobic biodigestion process for the production of biogases, and through the composting process for the production of composts.

At first, the process involved a pretreatment of the incoming organic matrix, to be carried out by coupling a shredder and a star screener: the shredder reduced the size of the incoming material and the star screener performed a separation according to the material size. In this way, the undersized fraction - below 70 mm - was sent to the digestion stage via a conveyor and a screw feeder

that directly fed the anaerobic digester, vice versa the oversized fraction represented the treatment scraps and was allocated to the landfill.

After a few years of activity, the critical issue found was the exiting oversized fraction that, once treated by the shredding-screening system, was still saturated with organic material that could enter the digestion stage instead of being ‘wasted’ in landfill. From these considerations, and from the desire to optimize the use of the organic matter while reducing the costs for disposing the waste fraction, the idea of including

an additional treatment stage downstream the shredding-screening system arose. The choice fell on Tiger HS 640, a patented machine by Cesaro Mac Import, which was introduced in this system as a stage for treating the oversized recirculation fractions, i.e. those fractions that, downstream the shredding-screening process, were destined for landfill.

After one year from the introduction of Tiger HS 640, conclusions can be drawn and a successful situation can be met. Indeed, due to the inclusion of this machine, the weight of the material that is sent to landfills was reduced by over 50%. This means that the performed treatment allows to almost entirely recover the organic matter that previously remained incorporated in the oversized fraction, thus enabling it, on the one hand, to be further recovered and allocated to the biodigester or, as in the case of greenAsm, to composting, and on the other hand to achieve a drastic cost reduction for the disposal of the waste fraction. Tiger HS 640, in most of the systems in which it has been installed, is used to treat the matrix as such, thus directly processing the incoming OFMSW without the need for an upstream pretreatment. In contrast, in the case of Nera Montoro, there is a dual use: the treatment of the oversized fractions from the shredding-screening process and the handling of the material as such on the basis of any requirements of the system. This application is of great interest, especially for the foreign markets where this machine is used only for the treatment of the material as such. The opportunity to install instead the Tiger in anaerobic digestion, composting or selection plants, where a pre-treatment system is already present, without the need to remove the existing machines, is an ideal solution to optimize the process while significantly reducing the process costs. The advantages are massive because there is a drastic weight reduction of the material to be sent to landfills with a consequent reduction in disposal costs that, in a plant where thousands of

tons per year are processed, results in significant savings. At the same time, the organic matter that is recovered from the oversized fraction and no longer represents a landfill cost, becomes instead an additional

amount of material to be sent either to the digester, in order to produce more biogas with the input material being equal, or to the composting stage, thus increasing the production of compost in the latter case.

TIGER HS 640 WORKING IN THE BAUDELET ENVIRONNEMENT PLANT IN NORTHERN FRANCE The methanization activities within the Baudelet Environnement group dates back to the 80s, but in 2013 the company opened its own unity of natural gas distribution, in Blaringhemnel Nord-Pas-de-Calais, which allowed to develop a new way to treat the organic waste, so that currently 100% of such waste is recovered through this new facility. Being dimensioned for processing 15,000 t/year, it allows to produce from 150 to 170 mc/h of biogas (55% being methane) that, after the purification step, is recovered in the form of electricity and heat. The process adopted by Baudelet Environnement utilizes the anaerobic digestion for producing biogas and heat, and the composting process for producing quality composts.

Pressed packaging items are conveyed by means of a worm screw and recovered by the wheel loader to be then sent to the center for the preparation of the material to produce RDFs. The organic fraction instead, being always conveyed by a worm screw, is stored in silos for then feeding the digestion tunnels.

The material used should be quite solid (with a density greater than 1), so that it can be moved by a wheel loader. For this reason, the formation of the material that is fed to the system is the beating heart of the Baudelet Environnement process. It has two essential requirements: having an easily movable/manipulatable organic product and having a very low presence of contaminants, such as small plastics and inertial materials, in order to obtain a certified quality compost. To accomplish this, Baudelet Environnement thus takes advantage of the potential of the Tiger HS 640 manufactured by Cesaro Mac Import, chosen since the very beginning of the project to ensure optimal preparation of the organic matter. Tiger HS 640 processes the waste by separating, on the one hand, the organic matter and on the other the dry, light fraction (plastic, wood, cardboard, metals, etc.), thus treating more than 70% of the incoming waste. The output organic matter has a lower percentage of contaminants (1% on average), working at a rate of 6-7 t/h.

Having a weight of 10 t, Tiger HS 640 is a sturdy machine with small overall dimensions. Its operation is simple, as well as its handling which is also facilitated by the fact that all parts in contact with the waste are made of stainless steel and therefore protected against corrosion.

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TREVI BENNE, XXL! THE COMPANY FROM VICENZA, AFTER THE SUCCESS AT BAUMA, IS READY TO TAKE ON THE NEW YEAR WITH IMPORTANT FAIRS, A WHOLE NEW RANGE OF PRODUCTS AND A PRODUCTION EXPANSION. Maria Beatrice Celino

C

an you describe the main activities of Trevi Benne and the new market areas that you are focusing on?

Starting with our slogan “We Are Demolition”, it’s clear that Trevi Benne is a company focused on the manufacturing of demolition equipment: from primary crushers for the demolition of structures, to secondary pulverizers for the demolition of concrete on the ground, from the rotating pulverizers to the universal multikit processors that offer many applications with the same equipment. However, over the years the market has changed and consequently we have become more perceptive when it comes to the requests of both the final user and our dealer. We have specialized in the manufacturing of recovery equipment for iron materials and handling equipment for organic matter, in addition to designing specific buckets to separate and crush the inert material to recycle later. Furthermore, Trevi Benne has earned an important spot in the forestry

field, by offering specific equipment for the maintenance of roads and forests, for logging and for volume reduction of large trunks. This kind of equipment is used by state logging companies and by private ones that work for town councils, providing safe working conditions and reducing the number of laborers required.

So, we are talking about demolition and handling, but also environment and waste...

Regardless of the final use or of the field of application, our strong point has always been manufacturing “bespoke” equipment, designed to satisfy the specific need of a client or dealer and that later often becomes part of our standard range of products. Our engineering department is often asked to work on site to analyze and design ideas or to develop better or specific solutions.

Customizations designed specifically for the recovery and cut of iron materials, for example, later become perfectly functional

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for the entire range of models that we offer.

Are you working on a project in particular at the moment?

We are working on the structural restyling of three series of existing equipment for the Conexpo fair in Las Vegas next March. The demolition field in the US is not as “evolved” as it is in Europe, the market is still quite tied to metal shear, since the majority of the structures that need demolishing present a high percentage of iron and metal alloys. They are not customized versions, but we intend to offer simpler shapes and designs, with more pronounced and sharper lines. Even though it seems like a paradox, we are finding it difficult to enter this market because we offer more technology that what they actually are demanding for. If we are talking about demolition, as in the act of knocking down to the ground a structure, since they have much bigger spaces, they tend to use more explosives which makes the demolition less accurate and less precise. And once the structure is

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on the ground, it’s just a matter of pulverization velocity and of cubic meters produced per hour, precision has nothing to do with it!

Since you are talking about the American market and the difference between what you offer and what they need, generally speaking, what is the asset that the Italian companies are able to provide abroad?

Overall, the great value of products made in Italy still has a huge appeal. If we compare the various Italian companies, it’s clear that they all offer on average reliable and good quality products. Since the quality starting point is the same, it becomes apparent that a company needs to offer something more to captivate clients and dealers.

Trevi Benne has been investing in the quality of the service for years, trusting its selling network into the hands of dealers all over Europe and the world (more than 100 dealers in 45 countries), trained periodically in both commercial activities and post-sale service. The goal is not to offer only a single type of equipment, but to create a long-lasting relationship with the client by counting on the vast range of products we offer and on the total coverage, from a mini excavator for building sites, to a 500 t mining excavator. When you are tied to a dealer, you need to have the business strength to hold on on to it and to achieve that, the lower price card is not enough. The financial side certainly has a remarkable importance, but you also need to consider how the company presents itself, its response speed, the service it offers for the shipping of spare parts, the materials supply timing and the support it provides to its dealer. Having a high performance product at an appealing price gets you in a good spot during the negotiation phase, but the qualities that really matter are the human values that make a client, a dealer or a distributor want to buy or try a product. We are proud not only of having historic dealers (some of them have been with us for more than 15 years), but also of the fact that many new companies and distributors are requesting our product, which means that attending important fairs and being featured on printed media increases the perception of quality of our company. Moreover, an honest behavior towards the distributor is fundamental when the client contacts us directly (and it happens very often)!

Maintaining our professional ethics has made us grow, next year the company will turn 25, we are more than 70, you can definitely say that our company is healthy. We have also just started to build a new 1000 m2 warehouse that will house ten working stations dedicated to demolition and a 35 t overhead traveling crane, since lately the trend has been oriented towards the manufacture of heavy machinery, both for demolition and mining purposes. Buckets heavier than 15/20 t are starting to become standard products and we need to equip ourselves to make the operations faster and more efficient and, with the new warehouse at the beginning of next year, we will also need to hire skilled manpower.

The selection of employees can be a problem, right?

Indeed, because training the employees can be very challenging.

We know that training a new employee can be time consuming, it can slow down the daily production, but it is an investment that needs to be made and training requires time and patience. Our area, in the South of Vicenza, is quite rich with metalworking companies, and the fastest and easiest way to find skilled workers is by

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“tapping into� this kind of resources. There is not just one kind of carpenter, there are many specializations and they depend on the sector (welders, assemblers, fitters, testers, machine operators, it definitely isn’t enough to be able to weld to be a carpenter). It sure is a tough job, both physically and for the climate conditions that in a factory are often harsh, you need to have an inclination for this kind of job, but it is a creative job since what you make with your hands will end up working in Sidney, New York, Dubai, Paris and so on. In March of this year we brought all of our workers to Munich at BAUMA, to give them the opportunity of realizing how the world works, how others work, the technologies they use, their welding and assembling techniques, painting, finishing and all those aspects that can be useful for their professional and cultural growth.

I can image how satisfying it can be for them to see the path of what they manufacture and to see what they are competing with.

Visiting the fair with our production department has definitely gave us some interesting ideas on foreign companies and Italian competitors, we compared ranges of products and we got to observe how they present themselves, their personnel, their business structures and their specific products. We got a report on the fair that we actually had not requested, which was very welcomed since it proved that our workers went there with the right spirit, to observe critically, they did not see it as a simple holiday.

Talking about fairs, will you attend Samoter?

Probably yes, we have confirmed our availability and our will to participate, Samoter was the first fair that we attended in 1993, a year after the establishment of the company, so there is also an emotional bond.

We hope that this edition will bring some improvements and that it will manage to attract again the big players that would provide higher visibility to companies like our own.

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RENEWABLES: INVESTMENTS FALLING IN EUROPE BUT RISING IN THE REST OF THE WORLD ITALY SEES GROWTH TOO, BUT MOST OF THE MONEY GOES ABROAD WITH DIRECT REPERCUSSIONS ON EMPLOYMENT Bruno Vanzi

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hile the rest of the world is seeing fast running investment in renewables, Europe is suffering.

REN21, the United Nations’ association that brings together institutions, non-governmental organizations, and associations from the green energy sector, has no doubts: 2015 has been an “extraordinary” year, with an increase in installed capacity that has never been seen before. In its 2016 global report, the network lines up the suc-

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cess figures, 147 electrical GW and 38 thermal GW added in 2015, with an investment in renewables that last year reached a record of US$286 billion, 5% up on 2014 and over twice as much as the US$130 billion destined to new coal and natural gas installation projects.

Global figures that hide the disaster taking place in Europe, where in one year investments in clean energies have dropped by more than 20%, dropping from more than US$62 billion to less

than US$50 billion, despite the positive trends being seen in the off-shore wind energy sector. A hemorrhage taking place since 2012: in 2011, before the beginning of this decline, the figure was US$123 billion, 250% higher compared to 2015. On the other side of the world, in China, the situation is reversed: in 2015 alone, investments in renewables have grown by 17% on the previous year, reaching a quota of US$103 billion, twice as much as 2011.

And significative investments are being

seen also in India, South Africa, Mexico and Chile. Morocco, Uruguay, the Philippines, Pakistan, and Honduras are amongst the countries investing more than US$500 million in green energy.

In Italy the situation is favorable compared to the average in Europe: investment in renewables were nearly €10 billion, nearly €3 billion more than last year. However the majority of these funds have gone abroad: €3.5 billion directed mostly to Latin America (28%) and Africa (20%), a quarter to the rest of Europe. Alessandro Marangoni, CEO of consulting firm Althesys who publish the annual Irex report on renewables, confirms the trend regarding “Italian businesses and their process of internationalization: the flow of investments that are destined towards development of renewables has been tranferred to emerging nations, not just driving and highly populated ones like China, India and Brazil, but also in recently developing economies like Morocco, Uruguay and the Philippines”.

A complex framework that has direct repercussions on employment. According to the recent report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), in 2014 the global figure for people employed in the renewables sector were 8.1 million, 5% more than in 2013. In addition to this number there are 1.3 million people employed in large scale hydroelectric plants. Yet the situation is very variable according to area. “In 2014, for the fourth successive quarter, the EU member states have witnessed a decline in employment in the renewables sector. As with last year, the economic crisis and adverse political environment have resulted in a reduction in investments. The total number of job positions has fallen 3% to 1.17

million in 2014”. The best performers, however, can be seen in Asia, where 60% of the global workforce in renewables can be found (in 2013 this percentage was at 51%).

MARKET, ENVIRONMENTAL, AND FINANCIAL ISSUES IN ENERGY EFFICIENCY

Energy efficiency is crucial in order to reach goals in reducing CO2 emissions, and therefore the survival of the planet, requiring a contribution to this end that is greater than new nuclear and new renewable energy plants put together.

Moreover, energy efficiency is the only technology that manages to reduce emissions without burdening society (along with negative costs). In other words, the battle to contain greenhouse gases can be won, while at the same time creating benefits to the economy and for employment.

At an individual system level, energy efficiency allows several goals to be acheived simultaneously: • the aforementioned sustainability of energy usage; • supply availability. Reduced energy consumption permits freeing from importing energy from other countries, thus substantially reducing the risk of interruptions in energy provision purchased from abroad; • greater competitiveness in the economy and in productivity. In the majority of energy efficiency measures t a k e n the kWh

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cost saved is lower than the kWh cost purchased. Therefore, energy efficiency increases the competitiveness of the economy in international markets, especially in sectors where energy costs comprise a significant part of overall production costs; • a sizeable increase in employment.

For example, in Italy the potential for half a million jobs is estimated in the case of investment goals actually being achieved. On the other hand, in the renewable sources sector, legislators have decided have energy efficiency development should not be, at least in very limited amounts, encouraged through the use of public incentives. This has to be seen as a wise decision. Indeed, such projects would guarantee a good return on investment.

In other words, energy efficiency is characterized as a market business.

However, the absence of public incentives does not imply a lack of attention from legislators. For example, Obama’s administration has made this a milestone for industrial policy in the United States. In Europe, several EU administrative orders, subsequently adopted in individual countries, have created fertile ground for development of an economically self-sustaining business.

The European Council has recently increased the goal for reduction of energy consumption to 27% by 2030 (from the previous goal of 20% by 2020).

All these factors have fostered a noticeable expansion in the

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sector, requiring huge investments (€55-75 billion in Italy alone during the next five years), an annual growth of 30% is forecast already in this short period (the quinquennial 2016 - 2020), and is characterized as being of low technological and regulatory risk.

The main technologies in actual use for generating energy savings are: • illumination, using LED technologies, dimmering and remote control. These technologies are utilized in the world of public street and traffic lighting and are generating - thanks to some invitations to tender from individual administrations and from CONSIP - economically beneficial results and improvements in installations on public energy networks. Recently, with the gradual reduction in technology costs, energy efficiency measures have been initialized at big private companies; • co-generative and tri-generative power plants. This technology is used to create multiple energy vectors for users with complex energy requirements. An example in the public domain is hospitals, that require simultaneous power, heat and refrigeration. Similarly, in the private domain, several industrial sectors (for example: the food industry, chemical/plastics, pharmaceutics) have the same requirements. In all these cases, generating the the seperate ener-

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gy vectors simultaneously (ergo: “co generating”) generally allows to achieve considerable energy efficiencies.

• teleheating networks, also utilizing renewable source technologies. One implementation is the construction of networks, useful mainly in urban centers of the coldest areas of the country, allowing for the production of heat that can be utilized by a variety of users (residences and other uses); • energy efficiency in the processes and installation of industry. There are several technologies, and they depend on industrial processes.

The use of an inverter, phasing and ORC cycles make up some examples.

Several obstacles have slowed down development of energy efficiency.

Among these the most relevant are: • the undervaluing of beneficial results (in terms of cost reduction and service improvements) that are achievable thanks to triggering of appropriate energy efficiency measures. This gap in information has been recently reduced thanks to actions from Energy Service Companies (ESCo), operators that are specialized in proposing and implementing energy efficiency solutions; • availability of finance required to effect measures. On average, energy efficiency measures require an

investment equal to 5 times the obtainable annual saving in energy efficiency. Certainly, the spread of the Third Party Financing system, where investments are supported by ESCo who are repaid by withholding a portion of the energy saving, has “freed” end users from any corresponding financial burden, transferring it instead onto the Energy Service Companies; • the problems for banking institutions to finance measures, that are relatively fragmented, not completely standardized and sustained by ESCo, themselves being frequently devoid of capital.

The above observations bring cause to think towards the fundamental role that ESCo development fulfils towards energy efficiency development and thus towards the need to support growth of fundamental players such as these.

The increased amount of, authority in, and investment capabilities in the Energy Service Companies requires measures to be taken on the quality and quantity of capital risk directed towards ESCo. These observations are at the foundation of recently launched initiatives, such as the Italian Energy Efficiency Fund, which represents the foremost investment vehicle in Italy aiming to be involved in energy efficiency projects in partnership with Energy Service Companies (also known as ESCo).

WHAT’S SO “SPECIAL”?

HAZARDOUS WASTE IS FOUR TIMES LARGER THAN URBAN WASTE. WE IMPORT MORE HAZARDOUS WASTE THAN WE EXPORT, ESPECIALLY FERROUS WASTE. Laura Veneri

I

SPRA’s customary annual report outlines the hazardous waste market in Italy and Europe. In the Hazardous Waste Report 2016, with data relevant to 2014, hazardous waste has increased by 5% to the previous year but Italy stands out as far as it is amongst the first placed for hazardous waste recycling (over 75%).

Hazardous waste is all waste that is non urban, produced by industries and businesses and they are split into ‘non hazardous‘ and ‘hazardous‘. Non hazardous waste come mainly from the manufacturing sector, constructions and demolition and from some types of waste treatment. Hazardous waste contain inside substances in concentrations high enough to present a danger to people and the environment and comes from oil refinement to chemical processing, from photography to me-

tallurgy, from tanning and textile production to waste treatment.

In Italy in 2014 around 130.6 million tons of hazardous waste was produced in comparison to 30 million tons of urban waste. This growth is attributable to non hazardous waste from construction and demolition works as well as by derivatives from waste and sewage treatments. Hazardous waste, however, remains relatively stable (+0.3%).

The economic businesses that generally produce the most hazardous waste are construction and demolition firms (39.7%), followed by businesses related to waste treatments and environmental reclamation (27.4%), manufacturing (20.5%), the service sector, commerce and transport (5%), water and sewage networks (3.5%), power, gas, steam and air (2.5%). Other bu-

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sinesses contribute around 1.4% towards the production of hazardous waste.

Looking closely at the hazardous type now, these are mostly produced from the manufacturing (39%), followed by waste treatment and environmental reclamation (29.9%) and in the service sector, commerce and transport (20.7%). In the manufacturing sector, around 27% (935,000 tons) come from metallurgy, followed by chemical manufacturing (18.4%), basic and formulated pharmaceutics (12.5%) and from coke production and derivatives from oil refinement (11,5%).

IMPORTS AND EXPORTS

The total amount of exported hazardous waste fell 4.7% between 2013 and 2014, going from 3.4 to 3.2 million tons. Imported hazardous waste in

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Italy in 2014, around 6.2 million tons, amounts to an increase of 7.6% compared to 2013.

Italy exports mainly to Germany, China and Greece. Of the total amount, 27.7% reaches Germany and are mainly hazardous: they come from waste treatment plants, sewage, water purification, construction and demolition works. They are destined for salt mines and in particular the Stetten mine in Bavaria, where the waste gets used to secure cavities following extraction work.

As far as China goes, however, in 2014, as in previous years, imports from Italy, amounting 278 million tons, is composed of non hazardous waste only.

Records show, compared to 2013, a reduction of 11% (35 thousand tons).

Waste that is exported to China is mainly paper and cardboard generated from the mechanical treatment of waste (79 thousand tons).

Also of note is waste exported to Greece, over 242,000 tons, composed by 98% of “light carbon ashes” destined for cement factories; this waste gets used to replace sand to create construction cements.

MANAGEMENT AND TREATMENT

In 2014 more waste was managed than was produced. Being 133.8 million tons compared to a production of 130.5.

Hazardous waste material reclamation (for example, metal recycling, material reclamation from road work demolitions, etc.) is confirmed as the type of management that is most used (62.4%). Despite the reduction in 2014 (-737,000 tons, ascribed for the most part to “ground dispersal for agricultural or ecological benefit“), the figure confirms Italy’s good performance in the EU with respect to hazardous waste recycling (over 75%), considering the average of the EU 28 is 45.7%. Slovenia (80.3%) followed closely by Belgium (73%) and Germany (around 70%) improve on Italy’s figure.

ENERGY RECOVERY AND INCINERATION

Going into detail on material recovery, and above all the process of “recycling and recovery of other inor-

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ganic substances“ that affect the total amount (47,1%): this waste is, for the most part, derivates coming from construction and demolition works. A small reduction is recorded in use of hazardous waste for power generation (-4.7% compared to 2013). 2.1 million tons were sent for recovery of power.

Among the most used resources was biogas (36.3%), followed by waste from timber production, paper and similar (33.5%), mechanical waste treatment (11.1%) and combustible waste (6.4%).

Seven Italian regions are chiefly responsible for the transformation of hazardous waste into power (jointly totaling 78.5%): Lombardia (23,3% of the joint total), Emilia Romagna (15,7%), Piemonte (10,7%), Veneto (8,0%), Umbria (7,2%), Apulia (7,1%), and Friuli Venezia Giulia (6,5%). Overall there are no significant differences in almost all regions. Of the waste used for power recovery, almost all is non hazardous (96.3% of the total of hazardous waste). There were 85 incinerator plants in use in 2014 that processed hazardous waste, of which 43 dealt mainly to urban waste processing. The larger part of incinerators are located in the north (51), there are 11 in the center, and 23 in the south. Hazardous waste incineration concerns altogether around 1.4 million tons, taking into account waste that was processed in urban waste plants. In 2014 a substantial increase of around 540,000 tons was logged, attributable largely to two types of waste: product of waste treatment itself and combustible waste. Consistent with the number of plants in the various regions, the figures show that, in 2014, 56.2% of all hazardous waste and 39.4% of all hazardous waste processed in Italy was done in Lombardia; in Emilia Romagna 17.1% of hazardous waste and 18.1% of hazardous waste was incinerated; in Veneto 4.7% of all waste and 9.1% of hazardous; in Calabria 3.2% of all waste. Mostly non hazardous waste was incinerated (7.8%).

LANDFILLS

The number of landfills that have disposed of hazardous waste has reduced, going from 404 in 2013 to 392 in 2014. The 12 sites in few are located

Percentile distribution of total production of hazardous waste by economic function, 2014 (source ISPRA)

Management of hazardous waste, 2014 (source ISPRA)

mostly in the south (eight), three in the north and one in the center. The greater part of landfills are located in the north with 228 sites, 58 in the center, and 106 in the south.

Despite the reduction in number of landfills, disposal has increased nationally: 11.4 million tons of hazardous waste, with a rise of 460,000 tons compared to 2013, amounting to +4.2%. The rise is greater in the north (+6.1%) and in the center (+4.8%), and falls in the south (-1.1%). Of the total amount of waste, 88.9% is non hazardous (10.1 million tons) and the remai-

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ning 11.1% is hazardous (1.3 million tons). The regions that have increased their use of landfills are Basilicata with +40.3% (+17,000 tons), Lazio with +34.2% (+185,000 tons), Liguria with +27.6% (+90,000 tons). Those that have greatly fallen are Molise (-56.4%, -10,000 tons), Umbria (-27.3%, 162,000 tons) and Trentino Alto Adige (-19.3%, -21,000 tons).

Campania, in 2014, did not dispose of hazardous waste in landfills because of a lack of authorized landfill for this type of waste that were therefore processed outside the region or abroad.

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GOOD STARTING POSITION FOR IFAT INDIA 2016 Maria Beatrice Celino

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he next edition of IFAT India is just around the corner. From September 28 to 30, 2016, India’s leading trade fair for environmental technologies once again unites supply and demand at the Bombay Exhibition Centre in Mumbai. The outlook is more than promising: Around 150 exhibitors have confirmed their participation and the exhibition space expanded by 30 percent. Among this year’s participants are domestic and international industry leaders such as Aquanomics, BASF, Bilfinger,

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Endress+Hauser, Excel Industries, Godrej, Ion Exchange, Kirloskar Brothers, Netzsch, Putzmeister, Siemens, Tata Projects, Wilo and Xylem.

PROMISING BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

According to Germany Trade & Invest, the company that deals with Germany’s external business and the marketing of the country as an economic location, the Indian environmental technology market is on a double-digit upward trend. The vo-

lume of waste generated annually in India can only be estimated—depending on the calculation method used it is somewhere between 42 million and 243 million tons.

This is based on a study published last year by the Öko-Institut, Institute for Applied Ecology in Berlin, and IFEU, Institute for Energy and Environmental Research in Heidelberg—on behalf of the German Federal Environment Agency (UBA). According to the publication, more than 90 percent of waste generated in India ends up in unsorted landfills, thus giving rise

to persistent environmental problems.

Around 50 percent of the total volume of waste on the subcontinent is organic material. The Indian Ministry for renewable energies has estimated that up to 5,000 megawatts of power could be generated simply through consistent use of the biogas from biogenic residues that accumulate in the country’s sugar mills. Thermal utilization offers another technology option for converting waste into energy. However, waste incineration plants have only been developed in a few isolated cases in India to date and often with unsatisfactory results.

MORE ROOM FOR DISCUSSION, INNOVATION AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

IFAT India 2016 not only offers exhibitors and visitors alike an opportunity to benefit from this highly promising market. By bringing together all market players under one roof and by putting new market trends into focus, the trade fair also promotes the exchange of professional know-how and experience which could help find a sustainable development path for India.

Stefan Rummel, Managing Director of Messe München, explains: “There are a number of challenges in the environmental sector in India that need to be solved.

This is why we have expanded the supporting program for our event. It allows us to provide more room for discussions, knowledge transfer and professional training.”

The topic of “training skilled workers” is right at the top of this year’s agenda. The Active Learning Center, which is organized by the German Association for Water, Wastewater and Waste (DWA), provides a separate area in the exhibition hall for the first time offering practical training, live demonstrations and professional competitions for young talents and skilled workers. The individual tasks are tailored specifically to the current needs and requirements of the Indian environmental sector. In one of the exercises, for example, participants have to design a smart city with intelligent resource management or complete exercises on occupational safety, maintenance and process control.

Also new this year is the Sino-Indian Environmental Technology and Industry Dialogue, which will focus on environmental

policy topics concerning China and India.

“Both countries share a common goal to create more sustainable and more environmentally-friendly economic growth,” explains Fang Li, Deputy Director General at the Foreign Economic Cooperation Office, Ministry of Environmental Protection of China. “Environmental technologies are the key to this plan. IFAT India is the ideal platform for us to promote this bilateral dialog.” High-ranking experts and political representatives from India and China are expected as speakers.

BIOGAS UTILIZATION FOR THE FIRST TIME ON THE AGENDA

The agenda for the renowned Innovation Exchange Forum includes numerous events addressing water, waste, recycling and resource management in India. Whether it is the thermal utilization of waste, treatment of industrial wastewater (zero liquid discharge) or best practices in the automation field, the individual sessions

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are specifically tailored to the needs of the Indian market. For the first time, biogas utilization in India is a key topic on the agenda. Gaurav Kedia, Chairman of the Indian Biogas Association (IBA), for example, introduces the new cooperation project with the German Biogas Association. The Innovation Exchange Forum is being organized jointly by the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), the German Association for Water, Wastewater and Waste (DWA), German Water Partnership (GWP), Indus Media and the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA).

IFAT India is part of a successful international network of exhibitions. Besides the German parent trade fair IFAT in Munich, which is the world’s largest trade fair for environmental technology, it also includes its sister exhibitions IFAT Africa in Johannesburg, IFAT Eurasia in Istanbul as well as IE expo in Shanghai and in Guangzhou. www.ifat-india.com.

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FROM ORGANIC WASTE TO BIOCOAL RECYCLING ORGANIC WASTE BY CONVERTING IT INTO A COAL THAT HAS THE SAME TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS AS LIGNITE Laura Veneri

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ccording to some European Union studies on OFMSW in 2012, close to around 140 million tons per year of wet biomass from agricultural, forestal, and municipal waste is currently available in Europe, of which 80 is organic wet waste. Around two thirds of this enormous amount is still being incinerated or sent to landfills and at any rate, not properly appraised. Ingelia, a Spanish company, has developed patented technology that can efficiently recover and recycle organic waste in a way that is ecologically sustainable by converting it into coal that has the inherent characteristics of lignite. In 2010 it built one of the world’s first

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industrial plants that work on the principle of hydrothermal carbonization, a process that has been known about for many years but has only now come about as a result of research and laboratory testing.

DECARBONIZATION

Via this ecologically sustainable process, in a few hours, organic wet waste and waste biomass is converted into a carbon solid, a type of lignite.

Wet waste biomass should not be dried; this saves energy, reduces environmental impact and gives new scope for appraisal of OFMSW and all organic wet waste, even organic wet waste with high humidity levels; con-

stituting the raw material that Ingelia’s recycling plant uses to produce biocoal, water and fertilizers such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.

Ingelia’s physical and chemical process takes place through pyrolysis in wet conditions. In a sealed environment with liquid water at ~20 bar and ~200°C, discarded biomass and organic waste undergo the same process as natural carbonization; this creates coal that has features of raw renewable material. It involves an actual process of carbonization, where the ratio of hydrogen/carbon and oxygen/carbon is modified, concentrated carbon being produced as a result of the process, with obvious

benefits to the environment. The process allows up to 99% of the original carbon to be reclaimed, which therefore avoids loss in the form of CO 2 or, worse still, CH 4. Regardless of the type of organic waste that is to be recycled, the main result of the process will always be a form of lignite. The lignite that is obtained can be used as biofuel and soil improver, or for industrial applications such as active carbon filters, composite materials/biopolymers, paint pigments, fuel cells, etc. Water from the process, which is sterile, contains a low level of carbon (<15%) as well as all the nutrients that were in the original biomass/waste (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, etc.). The water undergoes a process of filtration in order to recover the concentrate, which essentially forms a superb base for compound fertilizer, containing the three basic nutrients, and can be sold for use in the organic fertilizer production sector.

The most appealing characteristic of hydrothermal carbonization is the fact that it is a straightforward, green and scalable process which produces various hybrid carbon nanostructures that have practical applications, at a basic price which is comparatively lower than corresponding prices from petrochemical processes.

The process is constant, completely automated and with no emissions during the reaction part, it is remotely controlled and is also 200 times faster than current recycling techniques. The technology that is employed makes it exclusive in its innovative industrial application, a result of research that has been financed by the European Community, bringing about eleven industrial patents that form the make up of the plant.

PROJECT NEWAPP AND PLANTS IN ITALY

Ingelia Italia is a NewCo that was established in 2015 in a joint venture between Italian private individuals and the Spanish technology provider Ingelia, operating since 2006 in research and development of innovative industrial plants for hydrothermal carbonization of waste biomass and general waste of organic origin. Ingeliaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s effort has resulted today in eleven industrial patents that are fundamental to the continual operation of the plant, essential conditions for optimizing the balance of energy and for its large scale use in several applications, focusing on closing the organic waste cycle. Following the conclusion of a sufficiently long period for performance testing and fine tuning of the plant in Valencia, in 2016 Inge-

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lia started the commercial launch of their innovative technology.

Ingelia has also been selected in this technology to implement Project NewApp, under the 7th Framework Program of the European Union, for actual use of its proprietary technology as a method of efficient organic waste recycling within European Union territory, with the aim of reducing losses and avoiding the import of â&#x201A;Ź23 billion of carbon-based products from countries outside the EU. The sources of waste targeted by this research program are: cuttings and prunings, OFMSW, organic, digested, biological sludge. The 30 month project concluded on April 30th, 2016 with certified positive results for Ingeliaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s technology applied to all sources and for its environmental and economical sustainability.

In Italy, a business plan is in operation, with the goal of creating 30 plants within the next 5 years with an overall treatment capacity of 1,000,000 tons/year, less than 10% of total urban organic waste and less than 5% if special organic waste is included; the acceptable target is for every Italian region to take control of at least 1 plant. To date, the company is pending administrative process for authorization to build and start up its first plant in Lucca.

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POSITIVE CLIMATE IN THE WASTE-TO-ENERGY INDUSTRY Compared with the previous year’s already high level, the business climate in the WtE industry has improved yet again. However, the gap between operators and suppliers of thermal waste treatment plants continues to grow. While last year’s already positive climate among operators continues to increase significantly, the situation in the suppliers’ industry remains difficult. The operators of thermal waste treatment plants rate their current situation, as well as their future business expectations, as positive. Almost 80% of them rate their current facility utilisation as relatively high. In comparison to the already very positively evaluated year 2015, 60% of all participating operators report a rise in demand on the spot market. Two thirds were able to stabilise the high capacity utilisation of the previous year, while almost one third was even able to increase it. 40% of the operators questioned are even expecting a further improvement of their business situation within the next few months, only 1% is expecting a decline. As a higher capacity utilisation in many of the plants in question is hardly possible, the positive business expectations are mostly related to an expected rise in prices. Almost 60% of the respondents are anticipating such a rise in prices.

Unlike plant manufacturers in the WtE sector. These view their current business situation as poor. Over 50% of the questioned industry representatives consider their backlog as too low; viewed as a whole, this backlog has decreased for more companies than it has risen. More than half of the companies aren’t expecting any change of their situation in the near future, but at least the number of optimists is significantly higher than the number of pessimists. The WtE industry barometer 2016 evaluates the current business climate within the WtE industry using a calculation methodology developed by the ifo institute. Additionally, questions regarding current developments were analysed. Therefore, the operators of thermal waste treatment plants were, among others, questioned with regard to their expectations of the European Commission’s Circular Economy Package, the effects of the Brexit and the acquisitions within the industry by companies from China. The technology providers were asked to give additional information regarding their perception of different market regions worldwide. The WtE industry barometer is conducted by the Cologne-based consultancy ecoprog GmbH. The Confederation of European Waste-to-Energy Plants CEWEP supports the execution of the survey. A free download of the industry barometer is available on CEWEP’s website (www.cewep.eu).

CASE ANNOUNCES EXCLUSIVE MINI-EXCAVATOR RELATIONSHIP WITH HYUNDAI HEAVY INDUSTRIES CASE Construction Equipment announces a new exclusive agreement with Hyundai Heavy Industries for the production and development of mini-excavators. Under the agreement, which also includes OEM supply, component and spare parts supply to CNH Industrial, CASE will be able to produce models of up to five tons at its plant in San Mauro, Italy. The two companies will also start a joint development program for new models introduction. This agreement applies globally, excluding the South Korean market, and has a ten year term with the option for renewal. In a first phase, CASE will launch a brand new range of mini excavators that will be further extended over time. The new models will be designed in collaboration with Hyundai Heavy Industries. Once fully realized, the scope of the mini-excavator product range will run up to six tons. The styling, quality finishing, controls and cab layout, which will be developed also in collaboration with the CNH Industrial Design Center, will be consistent with all the machines in the CASE product line up, so that operators will feel immediately familiar with the new models. “This agreement is the latest step in our strategy to strengthen the CASE brand, consolidate its position in the markets and secure its long-term future,” explains Andy Blandford, Vice President CNH Industrial Construction Equipment for Europe, Africa and the Middle East. “It follows the new agreement we signed with Sumitomo for crawler excavators and the redevelopment and rebranding of the San Mauro and Lecce plants to create the CASE European Excavator and Wheeled Equipment Hubs.”

The strategy to strengthen the CASE brand also saw a renewed focus on its historic core values of expertise, strength and a practical, hands-on approach.

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A TIME OF MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS FOR INDECO For some time now, here at Indeco, we’d been planning the launch of a series of developments across most of the product range. Today, to mark Bauma 2016, it is at last time to show them off to the general public. We’re looking to give yet another boost to the productivity and reliability which are the hallmarks of our product range. We’ve done this by further improving the positive qualities of our range, with some crucial enhancements, as well as by broadening the range by launching new products to meet the needs of our end-users, for the first time crossing into new territory for us, outside our comfort zone of the demolition sector. We have upgraded the hydraulic system on our breakers , so that the HP series has now also become Fuel Saving (FS). Compared to other manufacturers’ models of equivalent weight and performance, Indeco breakers require less oil per minute and lower operating pressure. And as using lower hydraulic power means reducing the rpm on the carrier, this leads to fuel savings of up to 20%, while ensuring optimum performance and maximum productivity. This advantage is even more clear-cut if we compare the Indeco breaker with gas- or gas/oil-powered products of similar sizes manufactured by our competitors. That’s quite a plus, both for the environment and for your margins, which grow in proportion to the size of breaker you’re using. All of the new breakers in the Indeco HP range will be displaying the FS badge. All of the silent demolitions and material handling products have been given the same rotation mechanism which will now be used on all rotating products. As regards the IFP fixed and IRP rotating pulverizers , as well as a few improvements to make them more robust, the new models will have interchangeable teeth on the mobile jaw (welded onto a bolt-on plate and secured with special latches) for optimal penetration of the material being demolished. New by name and new by nature, the Indeco IMP multiprocessor has been redesigned, given a more robust body, and its maximum jaw opening has been further increased, while its demolition, pulverizing and cutting geometries on the various jaws have been improved. The jaws have been updated to make it easier to dismantle and replace and now offer better grip. Its pulverizer version now has interchangeable teeth. The shear version now has all of the features of the ISS Series Indeco shear (reversible and interchangeable cutters, and a dual-profile piercing system). The range has also been modified and extended.

BIG “OLFOSENSE” NETWORK FOR AIR QUALITY MONITORING IN TIANJIN CITY PCA Technologies S.r.l. is proud of having given birth to one of the largest networks for Air Quality monitoring ever built. 115 Electronic Noses “OlfoSense” have been installed in the industrial area of Tianjin in China, which houses various types of production sites such as chemical, petrochemical and pharmaceutical. Chinese Government’s concern for public health has been increasing greatly over the last years; in this social context, local Environmental Agencies had the urge to find a versatile instrument for keeping under control pollution affecting critical areas on a daily base. With OlfoSense, people in charge have now the possibility to intervene in case alert thresholds for concentration are exceeded, thanks to a real time response and remote control of key parameters. OlfoSense units have been deployed not only at perimeters of plants but on emitting sources also; data are displayed on a safe internet-based platform which collects meteorological data as well and provides a dispersion simulation of pollutants, thus giving a hint of the impact caused in the sensitive surroundings.

The main parameter is Odor, which is detected by the means of Metal Oxide Sensors while other target compounds – like VOC, NH3 and H2S - are selectively identified by PID and Electrochemical cell detectors.

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EVENTS

POLLUTEC BRASIL

SÃO PAULO, APRIL 4-7

In response to industrial and public market growing need for prevention, treatment of pollutions, resource optimization and sustainable development, Pollutec BRASIL offers a top platform where, over 4 days in São Paulo, 100 national and international companies promote and display their expertise, solutions and innovations in all the sanitation and environment activities. It is a great opportunity for 4,000 highly qualified visitors from Brazil and Latin America, industrials, local authorities, engineering companies, urban planners, research laboratories, who wish to discover new products and technologies, prepare investments, develop their network and meet suppliers.

www.pollutec-brasil.com

HANNOVER MESSE

HANNOVER, APRIL 24-28

A broad range of forums, conferences and special events offers you the chance to learn more about the key issues affecting industry today. Here – at the world’s biggest and most influential trade fair for industrial technology – you can compare notes, pick up valuable know-how and check out the latest innovations, giving you the edge you need to keep your business on track and ahead of the pack. The age of Integrated Industry is standing at the door.

Energy systems will be digitally controlled. Mature Industry 4.0 technologies are hitting the market. HANNOVER MESSE will drive this development even further - with a record number of examples of concrete applications.

www.hannovermesse.de

IE EXPO 2017

SHANGHAI, MAY 4-6

As the Asia’s leading environmental show, IE expo offers an effective business and networking platform for Chinese and international professionals in the environmental sector and is accompanied by first-class technical-scientific conference program. It is the ideal platform for the professionals in the environmental industry to develop business, exchange idea and do networking. Along with the increased market demand and big support in the environmental industry from the Chinese government, the business potential in the environmental industry in China will be huge. Undoubtedly, IE expo 2017 will be a “must” for the environmental players to exchange ideas and develop their business in Asia.

www.ie-expo.com

CTT – CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT AND TECHNOLOGIES MOSCOW, MAY 30 – JUNE 3 CTT — Construction Equipment & Technologies — is an international specialized exhibition, which is held annually since 2000. The event is the world’s 5th largest trade fair of construction machinery and equipment. In 2016 for the first time the show was successfully held in cooperation with one of the world leaders of the trade fair industry, Messe Munchen, Germany. Based on this new cooperation, CTT will thus be in line with bauma, bauma China, bauma conexpo India and bauma conexpo Africa. CTT is the perfect platform to present your company and products, to open up new markets in Russia and CIS countries and to get a broad overview of the entire spectrum of the Russian construction machinery industry. In 2016, 524 exhibitors from 27 countries took the opportunity to meet with 20,817 visitors from 60 countries.

www.ctt-expo.ru

WASTE TECH RUSSIA

MOSCOW, JUNE 6-8

WasteTech is a premier forum covering waste treatment, environmental protection and renewable energy in Russia and neighboring countries. Presenting in one place local and international manufacturers and suppliers of technologies, services and solutions from 25 countries to experts of municipal and environmental sectors in Russia and neighboring countries, WasteTech creates a unique platform for establishing new contacts, developing business relationships and expanding business. Supporting events program is an effective platform for business meetings and discussion of environmental institutional issues, questions of waste management, wastewater treatment gas emission cleaning.

www.waste-tech.ru

POWER-GEN

COLOGNE, JUNE 20-22

Now in its 25th year, POWER-GEN Europe and co-located Renewable Energy World Europe, is the dynamic centre point, where a rapidly evolving power industry meets to gather information and compare views on shared opportunities and challenges. Attracting a worldwide audience, it is the industry’s premier event, resolved to discussing solutions for advancing Europe’s energy future. Featuring the leading suppliers, sub-suppliers, service providers and end-users across the entire power generation value chain, POWER-GEN Europe and Renewable Energy World Europe encapsulate all aspects of today’s centralized and distributed power generation sector. Together they combine strategic and technical presentations with the largest trade show exhibition of power equipment and services in Europe.

www.powergeneurope.com

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