Developing a sustainability solid waste treatment portfolio for 3Ps (planet-prosperity-people) nexus

Abstract

Municipal solid waste requires effective management to avoid adverse environmental impacts, such as pollution emissions and leachate discharge, and to enhance economic feasibility and societal acceptance. The current waste policy lacks the synergistic and integrated effect of the 3Ps dimensions – planet (environment), prosperity (economic), and people (social) – leading to unsustainable municipal solid waste management. This study develops a novel 3Ps nexus graphical portfolio that can be universally adoptable in various regions to quantitatively evaluate the life cycle sustainability of solid waste facilities relative to business-as-usual (i.e., open landfill). The 3Ps assessments, which share the backbone of life cycle analysis, are conducted to form the portfolio. Taking Malaysia as a case study, mechanical material recovery facility is the most sustainable solid waste facility, outperforming open landfill by 7.5 (environmental), 2.7 (economic), and 1.95 (social) times, followed by incineration, anaerobic digestion, tunnel composting, and sanitary landfill. Mechanical material recovery facility (−67.7 Pt) and incineration (−9.26 Pt) are the only solid waste treatment facilities with net environmental benefits due to the 298- and 4.18-times environmental saving effect, respectively, from their generated value-added by-product. Ten scenarios are further analysed, combining existing national municipal solid waste policies and zero-landfill targets. A scenario with 40% recycling is the most sustainable scenario for fulfilling the 3Ps. Recycling is recommended to be coupled with tunnel composting and anaerobic digestion to treat heterogeneous waste, rendering the scenario 1.04–33 times more sustainable than other integrated scenarios. To align with the 2030 Agenda, waste segregation is essential for sustainable waste management and can be supported by technology improvement, financial subsidy, and legislative enforcement.