Application of life cycle assessment for municipal solid waste management options in Hohhot, People’s Republic of China

Abstract

With increasing population and urbanization levels in the People’s Republic of China, environmental problems related to the management of municipal solid waste (MSW) are inevitable. This study aimed to determine the environmental impact of the current MSW management system in Hohhot City and to establish an optimum future strategy for it by applying life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. Four scenarios were compared using the CML-IA impact characterization method, which took into account their potential contribution to global warming, ozone depletion, human toxicity, photochemical ozone creation, acidification, and eutrophication potentials. The system boundaries included the collection and recycling, transfer and transportation of MSW, and its disposal by incineration, landfilling, and carbon dioxide (CO2) capture methods. The results showed that the scenario involving landfill and incineration in a ratio of 1:5 was the optimal waste management option; however, increasing the proportion of waste incinerated led to a significant increase in global warming potential. Additional technologies are thus required to overcome this problem, and it was found that the use of CO2 capture technology resulted in a 30% reduction in the total environmental impact potential. This study’s results indicate that LCA is a valuable and practical tool to support decision-making that can be used to suggest problematic areas in current waste management strategies and to determine an optimal alternative to the solid waste management option.

Climate Change Impact of the Development in Household Waste Management in China

“…We have found no comprehensive assessment of the climate change impacts of the development in the municipal waste management system, moving from landfilling to incineration supplemented by source separation of food waste and biorefining. Life-cycle assessment (LCA) has been used to quantify the climate change aspects of waste management in China, − but Yuan et al pointed at the limited amount of studies and, in particular, noticed that only few studies consider separate collection at source . In general, the studies find from a climate change point of view that incineration is better than landfilling and that anaerobic digestion may further reduce its impact.…”

“…In general, the studies find from a climate change point of view that incineration is better than landfilling and that anaerobic digestion may further reduce its impact. However, many of the studies are case-specific, use simplified representations of the treatment technologies (e.g., do not include sequestration of carbon in landfills), assume single energy exchanges with fossil sources, and apply outdated impact factors for methane. − …”

Life cycle assessment applied to waste management in Italy: A mini-review of characteristics and methodological perspectives for local assessment

“…In recent years, LCA studies have compared many worldwide predictive, explorative or normative scenarios and have analysed different territories, perspectives and options (Börjeson et al, 2006). Moreover, research has also investigated particular aspects, as engineering aspects of plants and technologies that can improve the performance of waste treatment (Liu et al, 2021).…”

Bibliometric Analysis of Municipal Solid Waste Management Research: Global and South African Trends

“…In Cluster I, MSWM is closely linked to efforts towards the achievement of sustainable development goals. Some important research on MSW in Cluster I focused on life cycle assessment (LCA) of MSW [46], promotion of MSW recycling in the developing countries [47], and the contribution of MSW towards greenhouse gas emissions [48]. Some of the key findings from such studies were that a balance between landfill and incineration was the optimal waste management option [46].…”