Sustainable management of demolition waste in post-quake recovery processes: The Italian experience

Abstract

Disasters may have a severe impact on the environment and can generate huge amounts of building waste. The post-disaster recovery and reconstruction phases should be performed with special care, in particular when dealing with damaged cultural heritage. This study presents the positive experience of building waste management in the town of Venzone, Friuli-Venezia Giulia (north-eastern Italy) after an earthquake of Mw 6.46, in which historical buildings were almost completely damaged. Forty years after the event, it is possible to state that the recycling program - the first case of sustainable disaster management planning in Italy - was successfully conducted, and the cultural heritage of the town was fully recovered in its pre-event configuration. Considering the alternative forms of disposal, significant environmental impact was avoided, mainly related to land use and non-renewable resources exploitation. From this experience, some suggestions about how to conduct a sustainable disaster debris management policy can be obtained, particularly when dealing with cultural heritage.