Testing programme of pre-characterization for c&d waste: an innovative approach developed on the disused factory “Manifattura Tabacchi”, a case study in South of Italy

Abstract

The article presents the first result of the research agreement signed by Federico II University and CDP Immobiliare concerning reusing and recycling construction waste in the urban regeneration project. The research introduces a new approach focused on the criteria for picking the material samples in order to undergo chemical-physical analysis aimed at verifying the possible contaminants that affects the construction materials, and the effective possibilities of recycling and reusing them in situ.
The methodological process aims at defining a protocol for brownfield sites that holds together the potential value of newly freed soils (empty spaces that can be returned to the city) and the request for new specific uses to allocate the future life cycles of the brownfields. The paper will describe the results of the research work focused on an investigation about the scientific background concerning the urban regeneration topic based on the convergence of three thematic areas, interpreted as paradigms of the contemporary urban project: the care of the drosscape, the circular economy and the concept of urban mining. These paradigms could be guidelines useful to develop a transition aimed to re-define urban recovery strategies in the short and long term.