318 Int. J. Environmental Engineering, Vol. 3, Nos. 3/4, 2011 Copyright © 2011 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. Alternative stabilisation options of mechanically sorted organic fraction from municipal solid waste prior to landfill disposal Vincenzo Belgiorno Sanitary and Environmental Engineering Division (SEED), Department of Civil Engineering, University of Salerno, via Ponte Don Melillo, 84084 Fisciano (SA), Italy E-mail: v.belgiorno@unisa.it Daniele Panza via Legnani 6-8, 21100 Varese, Italy E-mail: danielepanza@hotmail.com Lara Russo*, Valeria Amodio and Alessandra Cesaro Sanitary and Environmental Engineering Division (SEED), Department of Civil Engineering, University of Salerno, via Ponte Don Melillo, 84084 Fisciano (SA), Italy E-mail: larusso@unisa.it E-mail: vamodio@unisa.it E-mail: acesaro@unisa.it *Corresponding author Abstract: In order to foresee the measures of the Directive 1999/31/EC, waste management policies are focused on the reduction of organic matter landfill disposal, through the recovering of the organic waste stream or the pre-treatment of residual wastes before landfilling. This paper discusses the advantages and disadvantages of possible stabilisation treatments of the mechanically sorted organic fraction of municipal solid waste, to identify the most suitable management action, with regard to landfilling impacts. Experimental results demonstrate that chemical treatment of organic residue provides only temporary stabilisation, while anaerobic digestion treatment represent an interesting option thanks to its energetic and environmental benefits. Keywords: stabilisation; landfill disposal. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Belgiorno, V., Panza, D., Russo, L., Amodio, V. and Cesaro, A. (2011) ‘Alternative stabilisation options of mechanically sorted organic fraction from municipal solid waste prior to landfill disposal’, Int. J. Environmental Engineering, Vol. 3, Nos. 3/4, pp.318–335.