The use of Life Cycle Inventory tools to support an integrated approach to solid waste management

Abstract

Solid waste management needs to be environmentally sustainable to reduce overall environmental burdens. It also needs to be economically sustainable to be affordable for all sectors of the community served. Integrated waste management (IWM) takes an overall approach to this, involves the use of a range of different treatment options and deals with the entire waste stream. The tool of Life Cycle Inventory (the goal definition and inventory stages of a Life Cycle Assessment) can successfully be applied to integrated waste management systems to assess their environmental burdens. Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) tools for solid waste management have been available for some time. Several models have been developed and applied to both theoretical and actual waste management strategies. This report reviews a case study where a Life Cycle Inventory model was applied in the development of an integrated approach to waste management.

Income effect or policy result: a test of the environmental Kuznets Curve

“…It must also be integrated with the economic objectives through the support of private-businesses such as collectors of recyclable wastes, recovery plants, etc. [22,23]. In a future study the authors intend to perform a feasibility study to assess the implementation of a plastic-sack-based fee in non-TMC regions through a survey with all stakeholders concerning their attitudes toward collecting methods, the disposal fee, and the privatization of solid waste collection.…”

Evaluating environmental impacts of alternative construction waste management approaches using supply-chain-linked life-cycle analysis

“…In addition to the aforementioned P-LCA-based waste management systems’ environmental impact assessment frameworks, several studies have also been conducted by using P-LCA methodology, where the main focus was solely on the process-specific environmental impacts of waste management systems. Examples include McDougall and Hruska (2000), Christensen et al (2007), Finnveden et al (2007), Thorneloe et al (2007), Villanueva and Wenzel (2007), Merrild et al (2008), Eisted et al (2009), Damgaard et al (2009), Astrup et al (2009), Larsen et al (2009), Johnson et al (2008), Manfredi and Christensen (2009), Ortiz et al (2010), Coelho and de Brito (2013), and (Song et al, 2013). See Tam and Tam (2006) for a review of recent developments in LCA associated with construction industry, including the recycling materials.…”

Alternative scenarios to meet the demands of sustainable waste management

“…According to ISO 14040 (1997), an LCA is comprised of four major stages: goal and scope definition, life cycle inventory, life cycle analysis and interpretation of the results. The life cycle of municipal solid waste starts when a material becomes waste and ends when it becomes either a useful product, inert landfill material or an emission to either air or water (McDougall and Hruska, 2000).…”