Abstract
This study performed a Life Cycle Assessment of the collection, transport, treatment and disposal of source-separated municipal waste (MW) in Baronissi, a town of 17,000 inhabitants in the Campania region of Italy. Baronissi is a high-performing town in a region with scarcity of MW facilities. The environmental impacts were assessed with three different methods—IPCC 2007, Ecological Footprint and ReCiPe 2008—in order to evaluate how they influence the results as well as how the global warming affects the results, since it is one of the major environmental concerns of people. The obtained results showed how the presence of facilities in the area is fundamental. Their lack means high environmental loads due to the transportation of materials for long distances, particularly for the organic fraction. The presence of a composting plant at 10 km from the municipality would result in a decrease of 65% of the impacts due to the external transport, regardless of the evaluation method. The results obtained with ReCiPe 2008 and Ecological Footprint agreed, while those obtained with IPCC 2007 were very different since global warming is strongly affected by the transport phase. IPCC 2007 does not allow to take into account the advantages obtainable with a good level of separate collection. Considering a single impact evaluation method, there is a high risk of coming to misleading conclusions.
Highlights
IntroductionBetween (1) and (2) there are the source-separated collection systems that allow for the recovery of secondary raw materials from municipal waste (MW)
Four hierarchical subsequent levels are at the base of a proper waste management system, according to the European Union strategy: (1) reduction of waste production; (2) recovery of material; (3) recovery of energy; and (4) landfill disposal (EU, 2006).Between (1) and (2) there are the source-separated collection systems that allow for the recovery of secondary raw materials from municipal waste (MW)
The environmental impacts were assessed with three different methods—IPCC 2007, Ecological Footprint and ReCiPe 2008—in order to evaluate how they influence the results as well as how the global warming affects the results, since it is one of the major environmental concerns of people
Summary
Between (1) and (2) there are the source-separated collection systems that allow for the recovery of secondary raw materials from municipal waste (MW). There are different types of separate collection: the bring system and the house-to-house kerbside collection system [1]. The main difference between the two collection methods is that with the house-to-house kerbside collection system, there are no stable street containers and the citizens have to put out the different waste fractions daily based on a detailed collection schedule [2]. The use of infrastructure, equipment and vehicles needed for the delivery of waste by the citizens and their subsequent collection and transportation to the MW facilities produces several environmental impacts (due to the consumption of raw materials and energy as well as pollutant emissions). The procedure of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is able to effectively evaluate these environmental impacts [3]
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