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LCA of Solid Waste Management Systems

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Life Cycle Assessment

Abstract

The chapter explores the application of LCA to solid waste management systems through the review of published studies on the subject. The environmental implications of choices involved in the modelling setup of waste management systems are increasingly in the spotlight, due to public health concerns and new legislation addressing the impacts from managing our waste. The application of LCA to solid waste management systems, sometimes called “waste LCA”, is distinctive in that system boundaries are rigorously defined to exclude all life cycle stages except from the end-of-life. Moreover, specific methodological challenges arise when investigating waste systems, such as the allocation of impacts and the consideration of long-term emissions. The complexity of waste LCAs is mainly derived from the variability of the object under study (waste) which is made of different materials that may require different treatments. This chapter attempts to address these challenges by identifying common misconceptions and by providing methodological guidance for alleviating the associated uncertainty. Readers are also provided with the list of studies reviewed and key sources for reference to implement LCA on solid waste systems.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division for Quantitative Sustainability Assessment, Department of Management Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark

    Ioannis Bakas, Alexis Laurent, Monia Niero & Michael Z. Hauschild

  2. Residual Resources Engineering, Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, 2800, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark

    Julie Clavreul

  3. SAGE/COPPE, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Anna Bernstad Saraiva

  4. Copenhagen Resource Institute, Copenhagen K, Denmark

    Emmanuel Gentil

Authors
  1. Ioannis Bakas
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  2. Alexis Laurent
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  3. Julie Clavreul
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  4. Anna Bernstad Saraiva
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  5. Monia Niero
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  6. Emmanuel Gentil
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  7. Michael Z. Hauschild
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ioannis Bakas .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Management Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark

    Michael Z. Hauschild

  2. IRSTEA, UMR ITAP, ELSA Research group and ELSA-PACT, Environmental and Social Sustainability Assessment, Montpellier, France

    Ralph K. Rosenbaum

  3. Department of Management Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark

    Stig Irving Olsen

Appendix: Reviewed Studies

Appendix: Reviewed Studies

See Table 35.3.

Table 35.3 Essential elements of reviewed studies of LCA applied on solid waste management systems
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Bakas, I. et al. (2018). LCA of Solid Waste Management Systems. In: Hauschild, M., Rosenbaum, R., Olsen, S. (eds) Life Cycle Assessment. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56475-3_35

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56475-3_35

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-56474-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-56475-3

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