Abstract
This study presents solid waste management planning in an urban green area, Bangkok, Thailand based on the material flow analysis (MFA) and life cycle assessment (LCA). Global warming potential (GWP) of four scenarios for handling solid waste generated in Chulalongkorn University Centenary Park, 2018 was assessed concerning the different ratios of waste recycling, composting, incineration, and landfilling. The results show that alternative systems proposed will result in lower GWP than the existing waste management strategy. The MFA results reveal that the final weights of solid waste ending up in a landfill are 98.8, 101.9, 68.2, and 44.8 t yr− 1 for scenarios 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively. Increased rates of landfill diversion by increased recycling, composting, and incineration decreased the quantity of solid waste disposed to the landfill and improved the environmental profile of the park waste management system. The LCA results found landfilling to be the dominant source of greenhouse gas (GHG) burdens, while waste recycling was found to result in the reduction of GHG. The results highlight that the use of MFA and LCA as a combined tool to evaluate the environmental performance of solid waste management systems provides valuable information for policy and decision-makers.
Highlights
Municipal solid waste (MSW) management is a critical issue in Thailand
Results show that material flow analysis (MFA) facilitates a complete characterization of waste management systems providing an essential base for life cycle assessment (LCA)
This study compares the Solid waste management (SWM) options for Chulalongkorn University Centenary Park (CUCP), Bangkok, Thailand, in 2018 using an integrated approach based on the MFA and LCA
Summary
Municipal solid waste (MSW) management is a critical issue in Thailand. In 2015, Thailand generated 26.9 Mt of MSW national wide, 16% of which was generated alone in the country’s capital, Bangkok. The practice of composting in low- and mid-income countries is less popular despite the high organic content in MSW due to contamination and the operating cost of the large plants. Advancing waste incineration with environment controllers and energy recovery systems are widely used in high-income countries with low-land availability [2,3,4]. This practice contributes to climate change on a global scale due to the emission of a large amount of GHG from the degradation of organic materials. Incineration and composting are other popular, yet less used methods of MSW management in Thailand [2]. The improvement of SWM systems in terms of recovering values in the form of materials and energy would enhance resource efficiency and GHG mitigation potentials [5]
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