Italy is a good case to study for the analysis of spatial waste related phenomena,
insofar as it is a country with levels of decentralisation in environmental policy
making (similar to those of Spain and Germany), that are much higher, for example,
than in the UK, and which is moving towards an even stronger federal set up.
Moreover, Italy is characterised by major income differences and, historically, quite
heterogeneous socio-economic and environmental performances in the northern and
southern regions. Divergence or convergence in current and future Italian waste
performance is an important issue that is receiving renewed attention since the recent
collapse (both practically and financially) of the waste management schemes in
Naples and formerly in Palermo, respectively in the Campania and Sicilian regions.2
Convergence pattern, particularly analysed in relation to air pollution emissions and
rarely in waste related contexts, is an important issue given that, on the one hand,
countries are monitored and valued on the basis of their national average
performance and, on the other hand, that regional system collapses have to be
covered financially by national revenues.