From a Vision to a Necessity-from a Necessity to a Vision. Thermal Waste Processing Plants-Case Study: Italy

Abstract

While searching for the answer to the manner of addressing the problem of waste that is produced in cities, we are on the one hand faced with the necessity of solving it in a fast and effective way, while on the other with searching for effective plans of long-term solutions in this regard. Any prospective answer to the question about the management of municipal waste most often applies not to the processing of waste itself, but efforts being made so that the amount of waste that cannot be subjected to so-called recycling will be as low as possible. The term "cradle to cradle", which is a current where a used product becomes a material for the production of a new one, is one of the main ideas which are at the helm of modern, pro-environmental visions of broadly understood resource management. However, pro-environmental, futuristic ideas regarding waste management are faced with the necessity of being confronted with the current state. One of the most effective means that provide an answer to actual, modern needs is the construction of thermal waste processing plants. The goal of this article is to determine the answer to the question whether-and if so, then in what manner-a visionary approach in terms of environmentally friendly cities has any effect on modern efforts and the solving of problems associated with waste management in cities. Do modern efforts regarding the actual protection of the environment follow far-reaching visions, or are they only an immediate answer to urgent problems? Examples of built projects of thermal waste processing plants, which were built not as a part of far-reaching plans, but as the result of taking quick and urgent "here and now" action due to threats to human life and a high degree of pollution in a city, have been analysed in the article. The analyses that have been carried out will make it possible to formulate conclusions which will be able to serve as reference material during research on both theoretical models of pro-environmental cities and on modern efforts regarding municipal waste management.