Abstract
Various nations in the world have developed technologies and strategies for appropriate waste disposal, and to abate waste generation and greenhouse gasses. Alternatives like recovering materials can help, but they require reliable information to improve planning and management. This study quantifies the Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions produced by the lack of valorisation of materials in a Mexican city. Two waste characterisations in a lower-class neighbourhood were carried out. For the CO2 emission estimation, two scenarios were considered. DEFRA emission factors for waste treatment processes were used. Waste generation was 0.64 kg/capita/day in the first study, and 0.50 kg/capita/day in the second. The CO2eq emissions of collected waste in the neighbourhood were estimated at 1824 kg for 2013 (0.20 kg/capita/day) and 1636 kg for 2015 (0.19 kg/capita/day). The behaviour of solid waste management in the city can be explained by the “prisoner’s dilemma” model, studied in game theory, which is ideally suited to analysing situations affected by multiple agents, but requires an accurate understanding of solid waste actors and social implications.
Highlights
The improper handling of solid waste (SW) causes problems for both human health and ecosystems
The situation is different in developing nations, where the realistic best scenario for solid waste treatment is the landfill
Hossain et al [2] pointed out that about 12% of total greenhouse gas emissions and 15% of energy consumption can be eliminated from the cement industry in Hong Kong by using waste materials to replace virgin materials
Summary
The improper handling of solid waste (SW) causes problems for both human health and ecosystems. For this reason, world nations have been prompted to develop technologies and policies for appropriate waste treatment at the end of the waste life cycle, and to abate waste generation. Strategies for recovering and recycling materials, retrieving the potential energy of organic waste, and implementation of eco-labels, among others, have dramatically reduced the amount of SW deposited in landfills. The situation is different in developing nations, where the realistic best scenario for solid waste treatment is the landfill. The use of Cadmium (Cd) and recycled Nickel (Ni) requires 46% and 75% less primary energy respectively, compared to extraction and refining of virgin metal [4]
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