The environmental impact of municipal waste management systems

Abstract

An efficient and effective waste management system is one of the key issues for urban areas. Such a waste management system should be effective and economically viable with minimal environmental impact. The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology is an effective tool for identifying and assessing environmental impacts, it also enables comparing alternative waste management options. The aim of this study is to identify and assess the environmental impacts caused by the waste management system of mixed municipal waste for the city of Krakow for the year 2017. Three scenarios are evaluated for mixed waste: 1) incineration in a new waste-to-energy plant, 2) mechanical-biological treatment (MBT), ballast and stabilized waste is landfilled, refuse derived fuel (RDF) is produced but not incinerated, 3) treatment in the MBT plant, with incineration of RDF in the waste-to-energy plant. The results of modelling show that all scenarios exert a negative impact on the environment in some impact categories, while in other categories- A positive impact. Taking into account the values in all impact categories, the scenario with the lowest overall environmental impact is MBT with incineration.