Environmental Impact Evaluation of Current Municipal Solid Waste Treatments in India Using Life Cycle Assessment

Venkata Cheela,Wahidul Biswas,Brajesh Dubey,Michele John

doi:10.3390/en14113133

Venkata Cheela, Wahidul Biswas + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/en14113133

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Abstract

An environmental life cycle assessment was conducted to compare proposed municipal solid waste treatment systems with the existing system in Visakhapatnam, India. Five waste alternative treatment systems, including open dumping of municipal solid waste (S1), landfill without gas recovery [LFWGR] (S2), landfill with gas recovery (S3), anaerobic digestion + LFWGR (S4), and incineration + LFWGR (S5). EASETECHTM was considered for assessment using ReCiPE Midpoint (Heuristic) world environmental impact assessment method. Global warming potential (GWP), terrestrial acidification (TA), freshwater eutrophication (FEW), marine water eutrophication (ME), human toxicity (HTP), terrestrial ecotoxicity (TE), freshwater ecotoxicity (FWT), and marine ecotoxicity (MET) impacts were determined for each option. The existing MSW disposal practice in Visakhapatnam city (baseline scenario, S1) has the highest GWP (1107 kg CO2 eq.), which can potentially be reduced to 68.2%, 81.5%, 98.2%, and 94.5% by alternative waste management scenarios S2, S3, S4 and S5, respectively. Scenario S4, involving the use of anaerobic digestion of food waste and residues dumped in engineered landfill without energy recovery was found to be the option with the highest mitigation potential of most of the impacts, and it contributes to significant environmental benefits in terms of ecological footprints in a low-income country such as India. Sensitivity analysis was conducted to confirm the reasonable legitimacy of data used for the determination of the impacts.

Highlights

Developing countries are increasingly facing significant problems with the unregulated disposal of municipal solid waste (MSW)
The waste characterization highlights the importance of waste diagnosis for the development of regulatory norms on open dumping, converting open dumps to sanitary landfills, and the establishment of waste treatment units, material and energy recovery units
Based on the characterization study, organic waste (41%) was found to be the major ingredient of MSW, and so the adoption of anaerobic digestion was identified as an ideal treatment option

Summary

Introduction

Developing countries are increasingly facing significant problems with the unregulated disposal of municipal solid waste (MSW). Population growth, urbanization, demographic transfers, changes in consumption patterns, economic standards, and utilization of less biological products contribute to increasing waste quantities [1]. Improper waste management leads to environmental, economic, and social problems, but considering it as a resource can meet future energy demands [2]. India is an agriculture-based lowermiddle income country, annually generating 62 million tons of waste; the waste collection efficiency is 70%, out of which 25–28% is treated using biological and thermal conversion technologies, and the balance is disposed of in an unlined landfill [3]. Waste management was a less prioritized issue in India until the formulation of MSW rules in 2000.

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