AAEL returns in secondment to Catania

AAEL, as non-academic partner in the ExPliCit Project, represented by Irene Lagares,
responsible for the technical area, has recently completed her second secondment period at
the University of Catania (UNICT).
During this exchange of experiences, Irene had the opportunity to collaborate with Prof.
Salvatore Cannella, lead for the ExpliCit Project at UNICT, Rebbeca
Fussone, Ph.D. candidate in Industrial Management Engineering at Dipartimento Ingegneria
Civile e Architettura (DICAr-UniCT, and Rachele Fussone, Ph.D. candidate in Complex
Systems at the Department of Physis and Astronomy (DFA-UniCT).

During our stay in Catania, in addition to the work carried out at the university itself with the
Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, we had the pleasure of meeting with
Federconsumatori, another non-academic partner in the project. During this productive
meeting, we met with Salvatore Nicosia, who showed us how they support consumer
engagement in circular economy practices and we exchanged insights about the operation of
waste collection both, in Sicilia and Andalucía, especially regarding the collection and
management of WEEE.

We also visited FG Ambientes’ facilities in Belpasso (Catania, Sicily), the leading
force in Southern Italy in the recovery and disposal of hazardous and non-hazardous waste.
With expertise in handling end-of-life electrical and electronic equipment, FG’s advanced
processes promote the responsible recycling and recovery of valuable materials. During this
insightful exchange, we met with FG’s technical director, Vincenzo Giuffrida, who shared how
their state-of-the-art technology enables efficient and environmentally responsible WEEE
(Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) processing. This system not only ensures safe
waste disposal but also facilitates the sustainable recovery of raw materials. We were also
joined by Pietro Pappalardo, MSc student in Management Engineering at DICAR-UNICT and
trainer at FG.

AAEL’s secondments are mainly part of Work Package 3, which focuses on the development
of in-depth case studies from non-academic partners related to supply chain modelling,
with particular attention to the analysis of circular supply chains scenarios within the Waste of
Electrical and Electronic Equipment industry (WEEE). Our role is to contribute to research
activities by providing access to data and case studies from e-waste management, waste
recovery systems, and models for the recovery and re-use of electronic