Life cycle assessment and cost analysis of an innovative automatic system for sorting municipal solid waste: A case study at Milan Malpensa airport.

With the recent advancement in artificial intelligence, there are new opportunities to adopt smart technologies for the sorting of materials at the beginning of the recycling value chain. An automatic bin capable of sorting the waste among paper, plastic, glass & aluminium, and residual waste was installed in public areas of Milan Malpensa airport, a context where the separate collection is challenging. First, the airport waste composition was assessed, together with the efficiency of the manual sorting performed by passengers among the conventional bins: paper, plastic, glass & aluminium, and residual waste.