Life cycle sustainability assessment of municipal waste management systems

Abstract

Life cycle sustainability assessment of municipal waste management systems The core element of all waste management systems that determines further treatment is the collection, transportation and sorting of waste. There is a spectrum of options that ranges from the complete source separation of waste with little or no consecutive sorting to the minimum separation at source and the consecutive central sorting of fully commingle waste. As each of the collection - transportation - sorting methods has particular characteristics, in assessing the most sustainable solution, a number of factors have to be taken into consideration. To assist decision makers (ad exemplum local authorities), the authors of this article has specified environmental, economic and social criteria that need to be considered while designing the integrated waste management systems. They can be grouped into environmental effectiveness (conservation of resources and reduction of environmental pollution), economic affordability and social acceptability. The article refers to the authors’ research on “The application of life cycle assessment in the integrated municipal waste management” founded by DAAD (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst).