Investigating the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions from municipal solid waste management using ant colony algorithm, Monte Carlo simulation and LCA approach in terms of EU Green Deal

Greenhouse gases emission from municipal waste management: The role of separate collection

Purpose Poor municipal solid waste management is a major characteristic of urban development in Africa. In Ghana, local governments are mandated to ensure the collection, treatment and disposal of solid waste. However, this has been a herculean task for local governments in Ghana, owing to inadequate resources and weak technical capacities. This has prompted calls for, and actual involvement of the private sector through public-private partnerships (PPPs) in municipal solid waste management, particularly in the urban areas. This study aims to assess the roles, effectiveness and challenges of PPPs in urban waste management in the Sunyani municipality of Ghana. Design/methodology/approach Adopting a case study design, the study used a qualitative research approach to provide in-depth insights into PPPs in municipal solid waste management in the Sunyani municipality of Ghana. Therefore, key informant interviews and two focus group discussions were conducted. Findings The study revealed that some policies and actions of the local government (Assembly) do not positively facilitate the effective functioning of PPPs in municipal solid waste management. There is also lack of effective stakeholder consultation, collaboration and grassroot inclusion in the PPPs which affect the effective management of the increasing volumes of solid waste being generated within the municipality. Practical implications To achieve the objectives of the PPP arrangements, local authorities should initiate steps to effectively coordinate all the involved private companies. There must also be ways of involving the beneficiaries in the design and implementation of PPPs on waste management to allow for effective grassroots and participatory monitoring and evaluation. Originality/value The uniqueness of the case study being a mid-sized and secondary city in a developing country enhances the value of the findings and the application of recommendations in cities with similar characteristics and initiatives in improving PPPs in municipal waste management.

Disposal of solid waste poses great challenges to city managements. Changes in solid waste composition and disposal methods, along with urbanisation, can certainly affect greenhouse gas emissions from municipal solid waste. In this study, we analysed the changes in the generation, composition and management of municipal solid waste in Beijing. The changes of greenhouse gas emissions from municipal solid waste management were thereafter calculated. The impacts of municipal solid waste management improvements on greenhouse gas emissions and the mitigation effects of treatment techniques of greenhouse gas were also analysed. Municipal solid waste generation in Beijing has increased, and food waste has constituted the most substantial component of municipal solid waste over the past decade. Since the first half of 1950s, greenhouse gas emission has increased from 6 CO2-eq Gg y(-1)to approximately 200 CO2-eq Gg y(-1)in the early 1990s and 2145 CO2-eq Gg y(-1)in 2013. Landfill gas flaring, landfill gas utilisation and energy recovery in incineration are three techniques of the after-emission treatments in municipal solid waste management. The scenario analysis showed that three techniques might reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 22.7%, 4.5% and 9.8%, respectively. In the future, if waste disposal can achieve a ratio of 4:3:3 by landfill, composting and incineration with the proposed after-emission treatments, as stipulated by the Beijing Municipal Waste Management Act, greenhouse gas emissions from municipal solid waste will decrease by 41%.

Purpose – This paper examined the current status of municipal solid waste management across Nigeria. The core aspects covered are generation, characterization, collection, scavenging, open dumping, disposal and environmental implications of poor solid waste management. The purpose of this paper is to present a comprehensive overview of the current state of municipal solid waste management in Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach – This study was executed by a combination of an extensive literature search and field study. Solid waste generation rates for 31 Nigerian cities were obtained from literature. In addition, characteristics of municipal solid waste from 26 Nigerian cities were also obtained from literature. Other aspects such as characterization of solid waste obtained from final dumpsite and heavy metals accumulation in solid waste dumpsites were undertaken first hand. Findings – Solid waste generation rate was found to vary from 0.13 kg/capita/day in Ogbomosho to 0.71 kg/capita/day in Ado-Ekiti. Factors affecting solid waste generation rates were identified. Typically, food waste was found to constitute close to 50 percent of overall municipal solid waste in Nigerian cities. This study shows that the rate of generation of plastics, water proof materials and diapers has assumed an upward trend. Due to the dysfunctional state of many municipal waste management authorities, many cities have been overrun by open dumps. For instance, more than 50 percent of residents of Maiduguri in northern Nigeria and Ughelli in southern Nigeria dispose of their waste in open dumps. Indiscriminate disposal of waste has also resulted in the preponderance of toxic heavy metals in agricultural soils and consequent bioaccumulation in plants as well as groundwater contamination. Research limitations/implications – The main limitation of this research is municipal waste management authorities do not have relevant data. Hence, there was heavy reliance on published materials. The status of waste management in Nigeria is very deplorable and therefore poses serious threats to public and environmental health. There is urgent need for both government and individuals to adopt holistic and sustainable waste management strategies in order to safeguard public/environmental health. Practical implications – Findings from this paper can form a veritable resource for the formulation and implementation of sustainable municipal solid waste management framework and strategies in Nigeria. Originality/value – While most studies on municipal solid waste management in Nigeria are focussed on selected cities of interest, this particular study cuts across most cities of Nigeria in order to present a broader and holistic view of municipal solid waste management in Nigeria. The paper has also unraveled core municipal solid waste management challenges facing Nigerian cities.

The aim of the study was to assess municipal solid waste (MSW) management system through life-cycle assessment methodology. A field study was carried out for characterisation of MSW and leachate analysis for the landfill site of Kolhapur city, India. The total MSW generation rate in the city was 180 t/d, out of which the organic matter content was 70·33% and the inorganic matter content was 29·67%. The characteristics of the leachate showed more pollution strength compared with the standards. SimaPro software was used for analysing environmental burden through different impact categories. Municipal waste management scenarios such as open dumping, composting, anaerobic digestion and pyrolysis–gasification were compared with the centre for environmental studies method. The impact assessment categories that were considered were emission of greenhouse gases, ozone layer depletion, acidification, eutrophication, ecotoxicity, human toxicity and summer smog. The result of this study has revealed a more feasible treatment scenario based on environmental impact analysis. Open dumping has shown the highest environmental impact. Pyrolysis–gasification with energy recovery potential and composting is an environmentally favourable MSW management option.

Closing the gap in the municipal solid waste management between metropolitan and regional cities from developing countries: A life cycle assessment approach

BackgroundThe key problem of non-grain energy plants’ scale development is how to estimate the potential of GHG emission reduction accurately and scientifically. This study presents a method coupled DSSAT (the Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer) and the life cycle assessment (LCA) method to simulate the spatial distribution of sweet sorghum-based ethanol production potential on saline–alkali land. The GHG (greenhouse gas) emission mitigation and net energy gains of the whole life of sweet sorghum-based ethanol production were then analyzed.ResultsThe results of the case study in Dongying, Shandong Province, China showed that developing sweet sorghum-based ethanol on saline–alkali land had GHG emission mitigation and energy potentials. The LC-GHG emission mitigation potential of saline–alkali land in Dongying was estimated at 63.9 thousand t CO2 eq, equivalent to the carbon emission of 43.4 Kt gasoline. The LC-NEG potential was predicted at 5.02 PJ, equivalent to the caloric value of 109 Kt gasoline. On average, LC-GHG emission mitigation and LC-NEG were predicted at 55.09 kg CO2 eq/t ethanol and 4.33 MJ/kg ethanol, respectively.ConclusionsThe question of how to evaluate the potential of sweet sorghum-based ethanol development scientifically was solved primarily in this paper. The results will provide an important theoretical support for planning the bioenergy crops on saline–alkali land and develop the fuel ethanol industry.

Biogas is one of renewable energy sources capable to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emission. Plastic biogas digester is a popular type adopted by people due to its low cost and simplicity. The utilization of materials for digester fabrication, however, positively contributes to GHG emission. The purpose of this research is to evaluate GHG emission of household scale plastic biogas digester by using life cycle assessment (LCA) approach. The boundary system consists of fabrication of the digester, operation and maintenance, and utilization of the biogas. The research is conducted by making an inventory to collect related information on the quantity of materials utilized to construct a household size plastic biogas digester along with emission factor of each material. Other important parameters include biogas yield and its methane content. Emission reduction is calculated from LPG saving due biogas utilization to fuel kitchen stove. Result showed that a household size plastic tube biogas digester system potentially reduced GHG emission by 1400.78 kg CO2eq/year for a five years of service life time. The GHG emission (in kg CO2eq/year) is comprised of 59.11 for digester construction, 7.83 for biogas production, (-456.14 for biogas utilization, and -1011.58 for slurry digestate utilization.

Assessing the greenhouse gas mitigation potential of urban precincts with hybrid life cycle assessment

Achieving environmentally friendly building envelope for Western Australia’s housing sector: A life cycle assessment approach

Green House Gases(GHG) emissions from the ornamental plant nursery industry: a Life Cycle Assessment(LCA) approach in a nursery district in central Italy

Electricity generation and GHG emission reduction potentials through different municipal solid waste management technologies: A comparative review

In developing countries the awareness on the importance of sanitation facilities, whether it is for municipal solid waste or domestic wastewater treatment, is still very low. Jodipan and Ksatrian Village, in Malang, East Java, are two slum areas that have recently been improved visually by using simple colorful paints. The visual improvement was expected to increase the resident’s awareness on the importance of keeping the area clean; adjacent to the project, a new municipal waste management system was also put in place, changing the president’s behaviour towards municipal solid waste. This study focuses on the relationship between community awareness in municipal solid waste management and domestic wastewater management. The result is expected to be an input for the government to enhance wastewater infrastructure program and its sustainability, related to its awareness on municipal solid waste. A descriptive model through questionnaire to 48 households of Jodipan sub district in Kampung Warna-warni and 69 households of Ksatrian sub district in Kampung 3D by random sampling, with an error of 0.1, was used to conduct this research. A nonlinear relationship between the change in awareness in municipal solid waste management (MSW) and domestic wastewater management was observed, with only 0.1312 of determination coefficient. Weak Spearman correlation coefficient number was found, ranging from 0.284 to 0.39, indicating another parameter turned into a role on affecting the awareness of wastewater. Further study about another parameter (eg. social and economic parameter) intervension on sanitation awareness could be investigated.

Analysis of carbon reduction potential from typical municipal solid waste incineration plants under MSW classification.

Greenhouse gas emissions and land use from confinement dairy farms in the Guanzhong plain of China – using a life cycle assessment approach