A Comprehensive Assessment of Products Management and Energy Recovery from Waste Products in the United States

Abstract

This study uses the U.S. EPA data and classification of products, which includes three main categories: durables with a lifetime over 3 years, non-durables with a lifetime below 3 years, and containers and packages, which are consumed within one year. It builds connections between the management of waste products and the energy sector, by evaluating the potential contribution of such products to the U.S. energy grid, and assessing the opportunity to substitute fossil fuels, both for electricity and residential heat production. Finally, this study conducts a vis-à-vis comparison between the U.S. and the EU progress on waste management, and the associated GHG emissions. Sankey diagrams were produced to represent the flows of products management from 1990 to 2018, and the results were assessed by considering the amounts produced, the composition, and the disposition methods used, the energy potential of waste products landfilled, and the associated greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions. The results indicate that the recycling of containers and packages have increased significantly during the 28-year period and became the dominant method of managing such products in the U.S. in 2015. Durable and non-durable products are mainly landfilled, and the situation has remained unchanged in the 2010s. Assuming that 30% of waste products landfilled in the U.S. were combusted for energy instead, it would have resulted in the substitution of <5% of fossil fuels used for electricity, but up to a 68% substitution of fossil fuels, such as propane, used for residential space and water heating. In the U.S., over 85% of GHG emissions are associated with the landfilling of waste materials, and although improvements in capturing and beneficially utilizing methane are implemented, the total GHG emissions have remained almost the same since 2015, with a tendency to increase. The European experience has shown that recycling and waste-to-energy are complementary in diverting materials from landfills, in enhancing energy security, and in significantly reducing GHG emissions from waste management. Future directions are discussed.