Management of excavated earth and rock Astaldi’s experience 
The present juridical framework of reference, governing “excavated earth and rock”, is substantially represented in Italy by the Ministerial Decree on the Environment No. 161/2012 and by Law No. 98/2013, which introduced and defined some important concepts on such issue. The interministerial decree is purportedly intended to improve the use of natural resources and to prevent the generation of wastes, determining the quantitative and qualitative requirements to be met so that excavated material may be classified as by-products rather than as wastes. The main novelties introduced concern the extended definitions of works, thus including infrastructure and excavation works, the introduction of the “intermediate site”, the provision concerning the presence of extraneous materials (concrete, bentonite, PVC, fibreglass, additives for mechanized excavation, etc. ...), as well as the definition of “common industrial practice”. The Italian law 98/2013 governs the management of excavated soil for construction sites having excavated volumes of less than 6,000 cubic meters and, anyway, for all cases which are governed by the Ministerial Decree 161/2012. Moreover, “self-certification” is introduced in order to attest compliance with the four requirements to be met. In conclusion, the general juridical framework provides for three alternatives for the management of excavated earth and rock: 1)the re-use at the site; 2)the use as a by-product at a site other than the production site 3)the recovery of the material as waste. Excavated earth and rock represent an opportunity rather than a problem. Astaldi’s experience in the excavation works for the construction of the subways of Milan (Line 4), Warsaw (Line 2), Bucharest (Line 5).