Streamlined Life Cycle Assessment for Solid Waste Treatment Options

This chapter begins with a general review of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) applications for solid waste management (SWM) that adopts various types of system boundaries. It presents a comparative streamlined life cycle assessment (CSLCA) for two types of solid waste incineration technologies, fluidized bed incinerator (FBI) and mechanical grate incinerator (MGI), both of which are commonly used in East Asia and Europe for burning municipal solid waste (MSW). Both Eco-indicator 99 and ReCiPe assessment methods were selected for environmental impact assessment based on a suite of indicators leading to the improvement of reliability of the assessment. Through the use of life cycle inventory and impact assessment tools, the environmental impacts were collectively assessed for possible damage to human health, ecosystem integrity, and resources. Finally, a generalized numeric scheme was produced for the overall assessment of these two incinerators comparatively.