WasteLCA 5: New Tools for Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment of Municipal and Challenging Waste Management

An ECI Conferences Series

June 7-12, 2026
Grand Hotel San Michele
Cetraro (Calabria), Italy

About This Conference

Building on the success of the 2016 and 2022 conferences held at Grand Hotel San Michele in Cetraro, Italy, and that of the 2018 and 2024 conferences held in Comwell Borupgaard, Denmark, this fifth iteration of the WasteLCA conference will bring together a wide range of delegates from different scientific areas, thereby taking a multi-disciplinary approach to the assessment of municipal and industrial waste management in the framework of a future, as much circular as possible, economy.

The conference focuses on methodologies and Life Cycle Management (LCM) tools – Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Life Cycle Costing (LCC) and Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA) – which allow a fair and reliable comparison between the performances of different waste and residual resource management solutions. Methodological developments related to these approaches will be considered together with case studies implying general conclusions.

Most current waste and resource management schemes still lack a holistic approach that is able to cover all the sustainability aspects of the whole chain from product design, raw material extraction, production and consumption of goods and services, re-manufacturing and re-use, resource recovery from waste down to its safe final disposal.  Moreover, most solutions could be integrated with other sectors in society, mainly those of energy, carbon capture, transport, materials, and chemicals production.

In this framework, the management of municipal and challenging streams (sanitary, radioactive, and mineral waste) requires efficient tools, able to provide reliable (accurate and quantitative) life cycle sustainability assessment methods. Digital technologies (blockchain, IoT, bigdata and AI) could strongly support LCM tools. WasteLCA-5 addresses the latest developments in the area, focusing on the new tools that can be integrated with a conventional LCM approach, providing a fast and accurate estimation of the overall performances of waste and residual resource management solutions. 

The program includes keynote speakers, thematic sessions, workshops, and poster sessions. The intention is to stimulate fruitful discussions on innovative ideas and directions to be pursued in future research activities, as well as how these approaches can be transferred to practical application in society.

Tentative List of Topics

• LCA and other LCM tools for quantitative assessment of municipal and industrial waste management scenarios
• LCA and other LCM tools for the management of specific challenging waste streams (e.g., sanitary waste; radioactive waste; mineral waste) in a Circular Economy perspective 
• LCA and other LCM tools for specific waste technologies and their integration into connected systems (e.g., transport; biorefineries; carbon capture and storage)
• Digital technologies for LCA: integrating blockchain, IoT, bigdata and AI into LCAs
• Prospective LCA and other LCM tools for emerging technologies for waste management and resource optimization
• Life Cycle Engineering and Sustainable Manufacturing
• Integration of Planetary Boundaries in LCA for waste management options: approaches and case studies
• Effects of legislation and policy on future waste management criteria in a life cycle perspective.
• Open-source tools and scripts for improved LCA and LCM for waste management

Conference Organization

Chairs

Honorary Chair

Prof. Thomas Christensen 
Denmark Technical University

Scientific Advisory Committee 

Prof. Dezhen Chen (Tongji University, Shanghai, China)
Prof. Mario Grosso (Politecnico di Milano, Italy)
Prof. David Laner (University of Kassel, Austria)
Prof. Lidia Lombardi (University “Niccolò Cusano”, Rome, Italy)
Dr. Kari-Anne Lyng (Norsus, Norway)
Dr. Andrea Paolillo (University College London, UK)
Dr. Davide Tonini (European Commission Joint Research Centre, Sevilla, Spain)
Dr. Yan Zhao (Beijing Normal University, China)

Local Organizing Committee

Dr. Filomena Ardolino (University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”)

Dr. Francesco Parrillo (University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”)

ECI Liaison

Prof. Franco Berruti
University of Western Ontario, London, Canada 
Dept. of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering- ICFAR_Institute for Chemicals and Fuels from Alternative Resources
Email: fberruti@uwo.ca

Special Issue: Waste Management Journal

Supported by co-Editors-in-Chief of the Waste Management Journal, a selection of the best contributions presented at the Conference will be invited to submit manuscripts for a special issue in the Waste Management journal, focused on a topic close to those of the conference. The Guest Editors of the special issue will be professors Arena, Ardolino, Lombardi, and Rigamonti.

Call for Abstracts

  Please review the list of tentative topic themes (above).

• Abstracts (one page maximum) that include specific results and conclusions to allow a

scientific assessment of the proposed oral presentation are invited.

• Oral abstract deadline: 30 November 2025 
• Abstract reviews completed and draft program: 31 January 2026 
• Final Program: 28 February 2026
• Abstracts for Free-Forum poster presentations: Ongoing until 30 April 2026

To ensure receipt of mailings regarding your submission, please add ‘do_not_reply@linklings.com‘ to your address book.

Please prepare your abstract according to this template: docx or doc.

All abstracts should be submitted electronically HERE. (need Renee for link)

Poster size:  Your poster should be no larger than 1.5 meter high and 1.0 meter wide (Portrait Style)

Abstracts of all presentations will be made available to conference participants prior to the start of the conference.

Venue and Tranportation Information

Cetraro and Grand Hotel San Michele

Cetraro Marina, a pleasant seaside resort is about two km from the Cetraro Commune of which it is a part.  The ancient Citrarium (name derived from the abundant citrus cultivation in the area) was a center of the Bruzi rising between Paola and Capo Bonifati.  Its coast location offers many interesting boat excursions.

The picturesque Grand Hotel San Michele is situated on the Tyrrhenian Coast, 120 meters above the Mediterranean Sea, with a fantastic view of Calabria’s southern coast.  It offers visitors one of the prettiest locations Southern Italy has to offer and is considered by many to be one of Calabria’s finest hotels.  Its beach (120 meters below the cliffs) is accessible only by a private special elevator.  The hotel has a swimming pool, driving range, tennis court, minigolf, piano bar and billiard room.

The hotel is surrounded by an organic farm that provides the hotel with fresh organic food.  Vegetables, fruits, olive oil, wine, milk, cheese, daily laid eggs, lamb, veal and pork meat, homemade jams and preserves are all produced on San Michele Hotel’s premises.

The acreage upon which the hotel is situated is also a bird sanctuary, where bird lovers from around Italy come to observe migratory patterns.

The maximum number of people that can be hosted in the hotel is about 80; however, there are other hotels in the area and the hotel can arrange pickups.

Transportation

By air

The most convenient airport is Lamezia Terme (87km).  Note that the hotel can arrange for pick-ups from the Lamezia Terme airport.  See below. 

If one prefers a combination of plane and train, one can fly to Naples (268km) or Rome Fiumicino or Ciampino (~470km) and change to the train..  

From Lamezia Terme Airport (SUF) to Paola

The airport is served by Air Baltic, Air France, Delta, KLM, Lufthansa, TAP and others.

1. Take the bus to Lamezia Terme Centrale train station (travel time 5min, every 30min).
2. Take the train to Paola (travel time ~30min, every couple of hours).

From Naples International Airport (NAP) to Paola

1. Take the Alibus to Napoli Centrale train station (travel time 15/20min, every 15/20min).
2. Take the train to Paola. Travel time: ~2h30 (intercity trains) to ~3h45 (local trains). Frequency: roughly every hour.

From Rome Fiumicino Airport (FCO) to Paola

1. Take the Leonardo Express train to Rome Termini train station (travel time 32min, every 30min)
2. Take the train to Paola (either direct or with a change in Naples). Travel time: ~3h to 4h (high-speed trains), ~5h to 5h30 (intercity trains). Frequency: roughly every hour

By train

The nearest major train station is Paola (25km) where all the fast trains make a stop

Italian train tickets can be booked with Trenitalia ( https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html) 

If you are arriving by a local train from Naples, you can simply get off directly at Cetraro and arrange for a taxi.

By auto

Use the Motorway Roma – Caserta Sud – Salarno – Lagonegro Nord – Fondo Valle Noce. (293 km)

Shuttle Service Information

Information will be posted when conference registration opens.

General Information about ECI

Engineering Conferences International (ECI) is a not-for-profit, global engineering conferences program, originally established in 1962 that provides opportunities for the exploration of problems and issues of concern to engineers and scientists from many disciplines.

The format of the conference provides morning and late afternoon or evening sessions in which major presentations are made. Poster sessions will be scheduled for evening discussion as well. Available time is included during the afternoons for ad hoc meetings, informal discussions, and/or recreation. This format is designed to enhance rapport among participants and promote dialogue on the development of the meeting. We believe the conferences have been instrumental in generating ideas and disseminating information to a greater extent than is possible through more conventional forums.

All participants are expected both to attend the entire conference and to contribute actively to the discussions. The recording/photographing of lectures and presentations is forbidden. As ECI conferences take place in an informal atmosphere, casual clothing is the usual attire.

Smoking is prohibited at ECI conferences and conference functions.