Abstract
The current barrier to acquisition and utilization of viable waste-to-energy (WTE) technologies at remote or deployed expeditionary sites requires high capital and operation & maintenance costs. The impacts to environment and human health of differing expeditionary waste management strategies were compared using the Life Cycle Assessment software SimaPro 8.0. Emissions of individual waste management scenarios were compiled from peer-reviewed literature, converted to values compatible with SimaPro’s waste scenario inputs, and the calculated impacts compared using SimaPro’s pre-loaded methodologies. These calculated impacts and the economic impacts confirm that open-air burning of waste is not only dangerous to humans and the environment, but is also not cost-effective. Considering the economic effects and the mitigated human and environmental health impacts, WTE technologies may be a viable waste management strategy for the future.
Highlights
Waste is an inevitable byproduct of life
As of March 2020, over 199,000 Veterans and service members voluntarily registered with the United States (US) Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in the Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit (AH&OBP) Registry to report exposure to the open-air burning of waste, a fraction of the estimated 3.5 million individuals eligible to participate in the registry [4] [5]
The goal of this study was to compare the use of a WTE incineration facility, sanitary landfill, unregulated local landfills, and open burn pits in the management of expeditionary waste at deployed locations, from both an environmental as well as a financial perspective
Summary
Waste is an inevitable byproduct of life. The management of waste is extremely important as poor waste management is known to have adverse human health and environmental health effects, and aesthetic impacts [1]. Current waste disposal practices for United States (US) Department of Defense (DoD) contingency military bases. As of March 2020, over 199,000 Veterans and service members voluntarily registered with the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in the Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit (AH&OBP) Registry to report exposure to the open-air burning of waste, a fraction of the estimated 3.5 million individuals eligible to participate in the registry [4] [5]. An estimated 3.5 million service members may have been exposed to openair burn pits and may experience adverse health conditions in the future, resulting in significant overall medical costs
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