Integrated modelling for waste management planning

Waste management is currently one of the major focuses for public environmental awareness. Until now landfilling has been the most diffused technology, but recent European and national directives force local authorities to utilise more efficient technologies, in order to promote materials and energy recovery and to reduce environmental impacts of the waste management system. In this framework a global approach based on integrated modelling can be used to support waste management planning, emphasising the linkages between tariffs and environmental policies. This paper focuses on the application of the IEA-MARKAL optimising model on a regional case, in order to perform a sensitivity analysis of the municipal solid waste management system aimed to the selection of cost-efficient and environmental compatible strategies.