“Going green” has become a sweeping campaign for consumers at all levels. One way to become more environmentally responsible is to practice reuse—the second of the three R’s in the mantra “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.” Although reusing items such as clothing is easy to do, measuring the environmental benefits conferred by reuse is not as obvious as, say, a reduction in energy usage. Author Valentina Castellani uses life cycle assessment to quantify the environmental impacts avoided by the reuse of commonplace items, through a secondhand store. Access her article in the July 2015 issue of IEAM.

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About the Guest
Valentina Castellani holds a PhD in Environmental Sciences from the University of Milano-Bicocca, in Milan, Italy. Her thesis focused on environmental sustainability indicators. Her main field of research is sustainability assessment, through indicators and life cycle assessment. During the last 8 years, she was involved in several research projects related to life cycle assessment (LCA), sustainable consumption and production patterns, sustainability indicators, education for sustainable lifestyles and decision-support tools for sustainable local planning.

Articles Referenced in this Podcast
Castellani, et al. Beyond the throwaway society: A life cycle-based assessment of the environmental benefit of reuse IEAM 11#3:373–382.