Environmental Health Impacts of Municipal Solid Waste Landfilling and Incineration in Different Health Systems: A Review

Abstract

Background: Municipal solid waste management is a complex process involving many technological options. In this review, the effect of five different health systems was studied to assess the impacts of MSW landfilling and incineration according to three environmental health measures: global warming potential, acidification, and nutrient enrichment potentials. Further investigation was conducted to determine whether these differences changed our study approach regarding selecting the most appropriate management option. Content: Life cycle assessment was used to examine the environmental health impacts of all MSW management stages through four main phases: goal and scope, life cycle inventory, life cycle impact assessment, and interpretation. Results were similar for Brazil, China, Lebanon, and Iran where global warming potential, acidification, and nutrient enrichment potentials were higher for landfills than for incinerators. In Canada, landfills produced fewer emissions. Summary: Such work can be helpful to choose the best environmentally friendly municipal solid waste management option based on the standards in Saudi Arabia. These results indicate that national health standards and policies determine these technologies’ environmental health impacts.