Plastic materials are generally used for several agricultural applications: films for greenhouse covering, low or medium tunnel, soil mulching and solarisation, silage, nets, irrigation and drainage pipes, bags, containers, pots, and agrochemical containers. At the end of their lifetime, the agricultural plastic materials produce, consequently, high volumes of waste to be disposed of. A non suitable disposal system for agricultural plastic waste could induce economical damages, negative effects on the landscape and on the agro-ecosystem with loss of material or energy. With an optimized process of collection, transport and final disposal of, agricultural plastic wastes become "secondary raw materials" that can be re-used for other different applications. In this way the by-products obtained from agricultural plastic wastes become technically efficient and economically feasible. Unfortunately, the management of plastic waste flux coming from agricultural activities is still far to be solved in some Italian areas. Apulia Region, Southern Italy, is characterized by high densities of greenhouses, tunnels, protected vineyards and mulching films for vegetable cultivation. Due to the huge problems connected to the disposal of agricultural plastic wastes, institutions, local authorities and farmers associations of Apulia Region have been interested in solving this problem during the last decade; first attempts were carried out within the European projects “LabelAgriWaste” and “Free Field”. The Province of Barletta-Andria-Trani, an agricultural area typically suited to vineyards, olive groves, orchards, and vegetables, is interested to realize modernization actions for the growers of the area. In fact the Province of Barletta-Andria-Trani is a partner, together with the University of Bari and other institutions, in the project “Agricultural Waste valorisation for a competitive and sustainable Regional Development – AWARD”, European Territorial Cooperation Programme Greece-Italy 2007-2013. The aim of this project is to offer an optimized management of agricultural plastic wastes. A Geographical Information System (G.I.S) is one of the strategies to pursue at local scale, with regard to the municipal territories of the Province of Barletta-Andria-Trani. In the present paper, the G.I.S. is described at a province scale: the principal agricultural areas with large use of mulching and greenhouse plastic films were examined by means of statistical data (plastic covered surface according to the type of application, the cultivation, the type of plastic material, etc.) and remote sensing survey. These data were introduced in a specific database, based on which three different layers were created. Through the use of the GIS, the road network was evaluated, with reference to the considered agricultural areas and with the existing temporary storage areas, in order to optimize the transport of agricultural plastic waste from the farms to the collecting points and to the recycling firms. The obtained results enabled the analysis and the planning of agricultural plastic waste fluxes, together with the possibility to investigate different development scenarios and to consider new planning strategies for their management.
Plastic materials are generally used for several agricultural applications: films for greenhouse covering, low or medium tunnel, soil mulching and solarisation, silage, nets, irrigation and drainage pipes, bags, containers, pots, and agrochemical containers. At the end of their lifetime, the agricultural plastic materials produce, consequently, high volumes of waste to be disposed of. A non suitable disposal system for agricultural plastic waste could induce economical damages, negative effects on the landscape and on the agro-ecosystem with loss of material or energy. With an optimized process of collection, transport and final disposal of, agricultural plastic wastes become "secondary raw materials" that can be re-used for other different applications. In this way the by-products obtained from agricultural plastic wastes become technically efficient and economically feasible. Unfortunately, the management of plastic waste flux coming from agricultural activities is still far to be solved in some Italian areas. Apulia Region, Southern Italy, is characterized by high densities of greenhouses, tunnels, protected vineyards and mulching films for vegetable cultivation. Due to the huge problems connected to the disposal of agricultural plastic wastes, institutions, local authorities and farmers associations of Apulia Region have been interested in solving this problem during the last decade; first attempts were carried out within the European projects “LabelAgriWaste” and “Free Field”. The Province of Barletta-Andria-Trani, an agricultural area typically suited to vineyards, olive groves, orchards, and vegetables, is interested to realize modernization actions for the growers of the area. In fact the Province of Barletta-Andria-Trani is a partner, together with the University of Bari and other institutions, in the project “Agricultural Waste valorisation for a competitive and sustainable Regional Development – AWARD”, European Territorial Cooperation Programme Greece-Italy 2007-2013. The aim of this project is to offer an optimized management of agricultural plastic wastes. A Geographical Information System (G.I.S) is one of the strategies to pursue at local scale, with regard to the municipal territories of the Province of Barletta-Andria-Trani. In the present paper, the G.I.S. is described at a province scale: the principal agricultural areas with large use of mulching and greenhouse plastic films were examined by means of statistical data (plastic covered surface according to the type of application, the cultivation, the type of plastic material, etc.) and remote sensing survey. These data were introduced in a specific database, based on which three different layers were created. Through the use of the GIS, the road network was evaluated, with reference to the considered agricultural areas and with the existing temporary storage areas, in order to optimize the transport of agricultural plastic waste from the farms to the collecting points and to the recycling firms. The obtained results enabled the analysis and the planning of agricultural plastic waste fluxes, together with the possibility to investigate different development scenarios and to consider new planning strategies for their management.
Management of agricultural plastic waste fluxes by means of specifically designed information system / Schettini, E; Scarascia Mugnozza, G; Sica, C; Loisi, R V; Vox, G. - CD-ROM. - (2014), pp. 1-1. (Intervento presentato al convegno 18th World Congress of the International Commission of Agriculture and Biosystems Engineering (CIGR) “Agricultural and Biosystems engineering – Upgrading the quality of our life tenutosi a Pechino (Cina) nel 16 -19 Settembre 2014).
Management of agricultural plastic waste fluxes by means of specifically designed information system
Scarascia Mugnozza G;
2014-01-01
Abstract
Plastic materials are generally used for several agricultural applications: films for greenhouse covering, low or medium tunnel, soil mulching and solarisation, silage, nets, irrigation and drainage pipes, bags, containers, pots, and agrochemical containers. At the end of their lifetime, the agricultural plastic materials produce, consequently, high volumes of waste to be disposed of. A non suitable disposal system for agricultural plastic waste could induce economical damages, negative effects on the landscape and on the agro-ecosystem with loss of material or energy. With an optimized process of collection, transport and final disposal of, agricultural plastic wastes become "secondary raw materials" that can be re-used for other different applications. In this way the by-products obtained from agricultural plastic wastes become technically efficient and economically feasible. Unfortunately, the management of plastic waste flux coming from agricultural activities is still far to be solved in some Italian areas. Apulia Region, Southern Italy, is characterized by high densities of greenhouses, tunnels, protected vineyards and mulching films for vegetable cultivation. Due to the huge problems connected to the disposal of agricultural plastic wastes, institutions, local authorities and farmers associations of Apulia Region have been interested in solving this problem during the last decade; first attempts were carried out within the European projects “LabelAgriWaste” and “Free Field”. The Province of Barletta-Andria-Trani, an agricultural area typically suited to vineyards, olive groves, orchards, and vegetables, is interested to realize modernization actions for the growers of the area. In fact the Province of Barletta-Andria-Trani is a partner, together with the University of Bari and other institutions, in the project “Agricultural Waste valorisation for a competitive and sustainable Regional Development – AWARD”, European Territorial Cooperation Programme Greece-Italy 2007-2013. The aim of this project is to offer an optimized management of agricultural plastic wastes. A Geographical Information System (G.I.S) is one of the strategies to pursue at local scale, with regard to the municipal territories of the Province of Barletta-Andria-Trani. In the present paper, the G.I.S. is described at a province scale: the principal agricultural areas with large use of mulching and greenhouse plastic films were examined by means of statistical data (plastic covered surface according to the type of application, the cultivation, the type of plastic material, etc.) and remote sensing survey. These data were introduced in a specific database, based on which three different layers were created. Through the use of the GIS, the road network was evaluated, with reference to the considered agricultural areas and with the existing temporary storage areas, in order to optimize the transport of agricultural plastic waste from the farms to the collecting points and to the recycling firms. The obtained results enabled the analysis and the planning of agricultural plastic waste fluxes, together with the possibility to investigate different development scenarios and to consider new planning strategies for their management.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
