STREET SWEEPING WASTE: STATE OF THE ART AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHARACTERIZATION OF THE RECOVERED INERT MATERIALS

ABSTRACT: The growing interest in the reuse of materials from waste treatment has led to the introduction of non-natural aggregates in the construction sector. Among the different types of non-natural aggregates there are the recovered inert materials from the treatment of street sweeping waste. Nowadays, the sector of street sweeping waste recovery is still full of critical issues, which do not allow to return a valid contribution to the world of circular economy. In fact, the main obstacles include the high heterogeneity of the considered waste, the gaps and doubts from a regulatory point of view and, in some cases, the failure to adopt adequate collection, selection and treatment technologies for the production of recovered inert materials suitable for the construction sector. Furthermore, the management of street sweeping waste in Italy is not well documented, with limited information available mainly by consulting public reports or private sector sources. Therefore, this article aims to explore the production and management of street sweeping waste in Italy at national, regional and provincial levels. It will also introduce the new draft of the End of Waste decree for street sweeping waste present and a case study related to the execution of chemical analyses and leaching tests on recovered inert materials from a treatment plant located in the province of Brescia, Italy.