Waste Management
The University of Parma, in carrying out its activities of higher education, research, and service, annually produces waste of different types and quantities. Depending on their characteristics and origin, the waste generated at the University’s premises is divided into two categories, which entail different management processes:
- Waste assimilated to municipal waste
- Special waste
Waste assimilated to municipal waste represents the portion of waste produced by the University for which regulations do not prescribe specific methods of collection, storage, transport, or final treatment. By nature, this waste is non-hazardous and is disposed of through separate collection across the entire University context. Assimilation to municipal waste, in terms of quality and quantity, is carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Municipal Regulation on the TARI Waste Tax and the Regulation on the Urban Waste Management Service of the Municipality of Parma, as provided by Article 198, paragraph 2, letter g) of Legislative Decree 152/2006.
A significant portion of the waste generated in the University’s teaching and administrative facilities is assimilated to municipal waste and disposed of through separate collection.
Special waste, not assimilable to municipal waste, is typically produced by the University in the context of its scientific experimentation activities, carried out for teaching or research purposes.
The main categories of special waste produced by the University include waste from electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), waste from chemical processes, and waste from biological processes and healthcare-related activities.
For special waste, specific collection and management methods are established, aimed at safeguarding the safety of the environment and people. Special waste also includes all hazardous waste, identified by HP codes as defined in Commission Regulation (EU) No. 1357/2014 of 18 December 2014 and Council Regulation (EU) No. 997/2017 of 8 June 2017.
The University of Parma’s current waste management strategy is based on the following guidelines:
- Restructuring the organizational framework of separate waste collection
- Strengthening relations with the territorial waste management company
- Establishing agreements between the University and private-law consortia operating in the recycling sector, for the collection and transport of special waste and its subsequent industrial treatment aimed at transforming waste into resources
- Implementing a centralized University contract for the provision of special waste management services
- Consolidating best practices for the internal management of hazardous special waste
- Providing technical support to University initiatives and projects for sustainability
The operational objectives and internal guidelines for waste management are therefore diverse and primarily aimed at improving the organizational framework of waste management, with initiatives and projects supporting sustainability, cost reduction, and enhancing the University’s capacity to prevent waste generation