Waste management and environmental management systems: a survey of an Italian manufacturing context

Many authors have analysed the environmental aspects and impacts of business activities and the benefits that an environmental management system (EMS) may bring to a company. The aim of this paper is to confirm some of the findings already emerged and to deepen the analysis. The first objective is to investigate practices and customs in waste management by firms, in particular of waste oils, in an Italian manufacturing context. The second objective is to discover associations between the presence of an EMS and the improving of regulatory compliance in waste administration. A questionnaire was addressed to 448 firms producing used oil as a waste and a response rate of 37% was achieved. A statistically significant association between the presence of an EMS and an improved administration of waste was found; in particular, the effectiveness of education and training to help employees make fewer mistakes in waste management emerged.