Economic impact of solid waste management on the sicilian economy: an integrated environment input-output approach

Disposing of urban waste is a problem everywhere; as an economy expands, refuse increases with a potential damage for present and future generations. Often, eliminating one source of pollutants creates other negative externalities. This is why an integrated plan is necessary for waste management. This paper presents an input-output model that estimates urban waste creation as a consequence of production of goods and services in the Sicilian economy. These estimates allow us to design a solid waste management plan based on the national and regional existing legislation.New Italian legislation establishes minimum goals of recovery and recycling and lists guidelines for solid waste reduction by encouraging new technologies. In addition it promotes the management of urban waste in optimal territorial areas (ATO) that coincide with the Italian administrative districts, the provinces. Some provinces in Italy have already enacted regional and local environmental plans. These plans focus on collecting data and proposing innovative technologies with the needed investment to achieve national goals. Unfortunately, these plans do not integrate the productive sector with end product use and they neglect the pollution created by the recycling process itself.Applications of input-output models for macro planning are abundant, but these models rarely include environment effects. Here we use an integrative approach based on a modified input-output model, extended to the environment, as proposed by Leontief (1966). We consider that all production and consumption activities are directly linked to some form of pollution. Models have been developed to account for the use of non-renewable resources (e.g. fossil fuels), water, and the amount of emission of pollutants. In the model we develop integrative input coefficients that account for the resource component and the environment component. This allows us to examine iteratively the effects of production on waste and the effect of waste reduction on production. Our results could be used in a general Waste Management Program that Sicily must adopt to comply with national and regional legislation.