What life-cycle assessment does and does not do in assessments of waste management.

نویسندگان

  • Tomas Ekvall
  • Getachew Assefa
  • Anna Björklund
  • Ola Eriksson
  • Göran Finnveden
چکیده

In assessments of the environmental impacts of waste management, life-cycle assessment (LCA) helps expanding the perspective beyond the waste management system. This is important, since the indirect environmental impacts caused by surrounding systems, such as energy and material production, often override the direct impacts of the waste management system itself. However, the applicability of LCA for waste management planning and policy-making is restricted by certain limitations, some of which are characteristics inherent to LCA methodology as such, and some of which are relevant specifically in the context of waste management. Several of them are relevant also for other types of systems analysis. We have identified and discussed such characteristics with regard to how they may restrict the applicability of LCA in the context of waste management. Efforts to improve LCA with regard to these aspects are also described. We also identify what other tools are available for investigating issues that cannot be adequately dealt with by traditional LCA models, and discuss whether LCA methodology should be expanded rather than complemented by other tools to increase its scope and applicability.

برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید

ثبت نام

اگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید

منابع مشابه

Application of Life Cycle Assessment for Techno-Economic Evaluation of Rural Solid Waste Management Strategies: Significance of CO2 Emission Control from Waste Management Sector in Abyaneh Village, Isfahan Province

Waste disposal in the current situation, which quantity and variety of waste are increasing, needs not only effective management principles but also depends on environmentally-friendly methods to put as less environmental footprint as possible. This study aims to assess the energy consumption, emission of greenhouse gases and air pollutants which normally produce during various waste management...

متن کامل

Environmental assessment of alternative strategies for municipal solid waste management by means of life cycle assessment modelling (a case study: Chalus, Iran)

Background and Objective: Due to the increasing trend of municipal solid waste (MSW) production, if a suitable management system is not applied, it will lead to environmental pollution and endanger human health. The aim of this study was to compare different scenarios of waste management in Chalous city with life cycle assessment (LCA) approach and to select the most efficient method in terms o...

متن کامل

Sustainability Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Of Household Food Waste Management in Urban Areas

Background: Food waste is a very serious problem, it is proven that Indonesia is the second largest producer of food waste in the world. A limited waste management system will result in a decrease in environmental quality such as air pollution, water pollution, and soil pollution. So far, the waste management system is only limited to reducing waste generation. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a ...

متن کامل

-

The development and evolution of any system–person, organization–nation depends on how the system succeeds to bridge the gap between what the system knows and what the system does (with the knowledge). We call this the gap between knowing and doing or the knowing-doing gap. If the system does not do what it knows, it will lose out in competition with other systems, its relative performance in...

متن کامل

Life Cycle Assessment of Municipal Solid Waste Management in Tehran

Due to increasing solid waste generation and their significant impacts on human health, environmental assessment of the management and disposal methods become more and more important. There are various disposal methods which are the combinations that originate from a wide range of solid waste management systems. In this study, municipal waste of Tehran (which totals to 7507.5 tons/day) is asses...

متن کامل

ذخیره در منابع من


  با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید

برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید

ثبت نام

اگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید

عنوان ژورنال:
  • Waste management

دوره 27 8  شماره 

صفحات  -

تاریخ انتشار 2007