Abstract
The optimization of municipal solid waste management requires the re-organization of niche sectors too. The sector of the university is not fully explored from the scientific point of view. The creation of networks among universities in order to face this issue allows an exchange of expertise also at an international level as demonstrated in this article, by three case studies: two Italian (University of Trento and University of Insubria) and one Russian (Ural Federal University) universities. This study highlights the pros and cons of each university in terms of waste management. Specifically, setting up communication campaigns, standard procedures, monitoring actions, pricing strategies that incentivize selective collection, and improving the collaboration within the university community are identified as crucial initiatives. The margins of improvement of the three universities analyzed are favored by the composition of the generated waste. The implementation of good practices can give economic advantages to the universities, besides improving their level of sustainability.
Highlights
Municipal solid waste (MSW) management was, and still is, one of the most studied topics
The results demonstrated that: environmental education on source separation of waste in high schools must be performed while adopting scientific methods in case of small communities [9], school is the starting point to get a change of mindset, as speaking with students means communicating indirectly with all the other targets [10], the teaching of pro-environmental attitudes must be encouraged through a simultaneous information campaign in homogeneous territories [11], and communication campaigns must be based on a knowledge of the composition of MSW deeper than the past [12]
The analyzed case studies demonstrate that optimizing selective collection (SC) is a complex subject involving the whole university community as the MSW generation concerns a wide variety of areas
Summary
Municipal solid waste (MSW) management was, and still is, one of the most studied topics. The can be seen from recent publications included in the Scopus® database To this concern, the interest has been focused on: the viability of decentralized biogas production from the food waste generated in a university compound [1], the potential valorization of food waste generated in primary and secondary schools through composting [2], the relevance of paper and cardboard in the waste generated at university level [3], the importance of involving university cafeterias and canteens in the source separation of food waste [4], the strategic role that sustainable waste management projects can have when involving the university community [5], the fact that instilling the right behavior in school children is beneficial to the environmental behavior of their families [6], the high recyclability of waste generated in universities thanks to the presence of plastic and paper [7], and the seasonal variability of waste generated in university campuses [8]. The results demonstrated that: environmental education on source separation of waste in high schools must be performed while adopting scientific methods in case of small communities [9], school is the starting point to get a change of mindset, as speaking with students (all potential communicators) means communicating indirectly with all the other targets [10], the teaching of pro-environmental attitudes must be encouraged through a simultaneous information campaign in homogeneous territories [11], and communication campaigns must be based on a knowledge of the composition of MSW deeper than the past [12]
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