Using MCDA and GIS for hazardous waste landfill siting considering land scarcity for waste disposal

The main aim of this study was to develop a procedure that minimizes the wasting of space for the siting of hazardous waste landfills as part of a solid waste management system. We wanted to tackle the shortage of land for waste disposal that is a serious and growing problem in most large urban regions. The procedure combines a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) approach with a geographical information system (GIS). The GIS was utilised to obtain an initial screening in order to eliminate unsuitable areas, whereas the MCDA was developed to select the most suitable sites. The novelty of the proposed siting procedure is the introduction of a new screening phase before the macro-siting step aimed at producing a “land use map of potentially suitable areas” for the siting of solid waste facilities which simultaneously takes into consideration all plant types. The issue of obtaining sites evaluations of a specific facility was coupled with the issue of not wasting land appropriate to facilitate other types of waste management options. In the developed case study, the use of an innovative criteria weighting tool (the “Priority Scale”) in combination with the Analytic Hierarchy Process was useful to easier define the priorities of the evaluation criteria in comparison with other classic methods such as the Paired Comparison Technique in combination with the Simple Additive Weighting method.     

The ecological relevance of transport in waste disposal systems in Western Europe

With the development of modern waste management systems in Western Europe, a remarkable increase in the distances for waste transportation has been observed. The question thus arises whether recycling with longer transport distances is ecologically advantageous or whether disposal without recycling is to be preferred. This situation was analysed using selected product and waste streams. This included refrigerators, paper, polyethylene films and expanded polystyrene. For each of these streams, a life cycle analysis was conducted with an emphasis on waste transport. The system boundaries were set in terms of the generation of waste to recycling or landfilling. The comparison included several scenarios with recycling and different transport distances. Landfilling was used as the reference scenario. The results obtained demonstrated how transport distances influence the ecological benefit of recycling. In the case of expanded polystyrene, the ecological boundaries are reached in practical situations, while with other materials these boundaries are far from being attained. In these cases, more complex and elaborate collection schemes, such as kerbside collection, which is economically convenient and shows the highest collection rates, can also be recommended.     

Waste battery treatment options: Comparing their environmental performance

Waste consumer batteries are recycled using different routes based on hydrometallurgical and pyrometallurgical processes. Two hydrometallurgical and two pyrometallurgical treatment scenarios are compared starting from an average composition of Belgian waste batteries. The environmental performance is compared using life cycle analysis (LCA). The recycling rate is studied through mass balance calculation.Each treatment scenario results in a specific recycling rate. The environmental impact and benefits also vary between the treatment options. There is no such thing as a typical hydrometallurgical or pyrometallurgical treatment. When applying a hydrometallurgical treatment scenario, the focus lies on zinc and iron recycling. When allowing manganese recycling, the energy demand of the hydrometallurgical process increases considerably. Both pyrometallurgical options recycle zinc, iron and manganese. According to the LCA, none of the treatment scenarios performs generally better or worse than the others. Each option has specific advantages and disadvantages. The Batteries Directive 2006/66/EC sets out a recycling rate of 50% for consumer waste batteries. Based on metal recycling alone, the mass balances show that the target is difficult to obtain.     

Emergy analysis of the recycling options for construction and demolition waste

Construction and demolition (C&D) waste is becoming a major contributor to environmental pollution. In Shanghai, China, the quantity of C&D waste is 2.11E+07 t/yr, which accounts for 45% of the total quantity of solid waste. There has been a growing promotion of recycling C&D waste as an effective way to solve this waste problem. However, the evaluation of the efficiency of recycling C&D waste as a potential source of resources is largely based on traditional economic analysis. The economic analysis emphasizes money instead of the harmony between economic benefit and environmental effects. There is a need for a new strategic approach to investigate the efficiency of recycling C&D waste to achieve the integration between economic, social and environmental effects. Emergy theory can be employed to analyze different recycling options for C&D waste. With reference to the Chinese construction industry, this paper demonstrates that the close-loop recycling option is better than the open-loop recycling option for C&D waste in terms of the integration of social, environmental and sustainable aspects. To evaluate different technology solutions for C&D waste recycling, the emergy theory and method is not limited to a cost-benefit balance but can include economic, social, environmental and sustainable effects.     

Paper waste – Recycling,incineration or landfilling? A review of existing life cycle assessments

A review of existing life cycle assessments (LCAs) on paper and cardboard waste has been undertaken. The objectives of the review were threefold. Firstly, to see whether a consistent message comes out of published LCA literature on optimum disposal or recycling solutions for this waste type. Such message has implications for current policy formulation on material recycling and disposal in the EU. Secondly, to identify key methodological issues of paper waste management LCAs, and enlighten the influence of such issues on the conclusions of the LCA studies. Thirdly, in light of the analysis made, to discuss whether it is at all valid to use the LCA methodology in its current development state to guide policy decisions on paper waste. A total of nine LCA studies containing altogether 73 scenarios were selected from a thorough, international literature search. The selected studies are LCAs including comparisons of different management options for waste paper. Despite claims of inconsistency, the LCAs reviewed illustrate the environmental benefits in recycling over incineration or landfill options, for paper and cardboard waste. This broad consensus was found despite differences in geographic location and definitions of the paper recycling/disposal systems studied. A systematic exploration of the LCA studies showed, however, important methodological pitfalls and sources of error, mainly concerning differences in the definition of the system boundaries. Fifteen key assumptions were identified that cover the three paper cycle system areas: raw materials and forestry, paper production, and disposal/recovery. It was found that the outcome of the individual LCA studies largely depended on the choices made in some of these assumptions, most specifically the ones concerning energy use and generation, and forestry.     

The development and achievements of EU waste policy

While waste amounts are still growing in the EU, there is a clear shift in the waste management options employed to deal with waste. Less waste is landfilled and more is recycled or incinerated with energy recovery. In all, 62% of municipal waste was landfilled in 1995, but that figure had fallen to 40% by 2008. Waste management has a strong influence on the environment by either provoking or preventing impacts; for example, greenhouse gas emissions vary significantly between treatment options. The overall CO2-equivalent impacts from municipal waste management have in the same period been more than halved. The drivers for this change in waste management have been EU and national policies and legislation that have set up clear targets for recycling and recovery of waste. This article gives an overview of the set targets, the achieved results, and the consequences for greenhouse gas emissions of municipal waste management.     

Options for sustainable industrial waste management toward zero landfill waste in a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) factory in Thailand

The feasibility of the 3R concept tends to increase the reduction, reuse, and recycling of industrial waste. In this study, we investigated the feasibility of 3R methods to cope with industrial waste generated from high-density polyethylene production in Thailand. The sources and types of waste and existing waste management practices were identified. The four sources of waste generation that we identified were: (1) production, (2) packaging, (3) wastewater treatment, and (4) maintenance, distributed as 47, 46, 4, and 3 %, respectively. The main options for management were: sales to recycling plants (60.41 %), reuse and recycling (25.93 %), and industrial-waste landfilling (10.47 %). After 3R options were introduced, the proposed alternatives were found to be capable of reducing the amount of waste by 33.88 %. The results of life-cycle assessment (LCA) were useful for considering the environmental impact where 3R options were adopted. We also found that net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and other environmental impacts could be reduced when industrial waste diverted from landfill is used as alternative fuel. However, the cost of waste disposal seems to be the greatest obstacle for the adoption of 3R methods in Thailand.     

Management of recycling in the Gulf Co-operation Council states

Although some of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) member states have placed recycling at the top of their waste management priorities, the low cost of landfill and the availability of land, usually old sand or gravel quarries, make recycling programs infeasible, uneconomical and unachievable. The only comprehensive form of recycling available within the GCC states is recycling of paper and cartons. The majority of the GCC states never set national or regional recycling targets. The cost of recycling in the GCC states region could be moderate to high depending on the collection system selected for the recycling program. Almost all of the cities within the GCC states use mechanised systems for daily collection of municipal solid waste (MSW). Therefore, the same daily collection system used for MSW might well be used for collection of recyclable materials, both on the same day and at the same time, or according to a different timetable. This paper provides strategies for developing an effective recycling marketing program and discusses regional co-ordination options.     

Life cycle inventory analyses for five waste management options for discarded newspaper.

This paper presents the results of life cycle inventory (LCI) analyses that were carried out to determine the environmental impacts (emissions, resource extractions and land use) of different newspaper waste management options for the Helsinki Metropolitan Area (HMA). LCI analyses were performed for five product systems, in which discarded newspapers were divided into two streams: separately collected newspapers and newspapers in mixed waste. In all the options, the manufacturing and printing processes of newspaper were kept unchanged. The waste management alternatives included combinations of material recycling, energy recovery and landfilling. These product systems were modelled using the current collection rate of newspaper and four additional collection rates. The LCIs of the product systems showed that the life cycle phase causing the most environmental impacts was the paper mill. When comparing the different waste management systems, the energy recovery options were in general superior to landfilling. The ecological implications of the increased energy recovery and decreased material recycling of newspaper were, however, not yet considered in the study. These aspects were assessed in the life cycle impact assessment (LCIA), which was performed after the LCI phase.     

The German packaging ordinance: the questionable effects of a fragmentary solid waste management approach

Germany seems to be one of the leading nations in solid waste management, especially in the case of packaging waste; success stories about the ongoing increase in recycling strengthen this impression. However, enormous costs and questionable ecological benefits are the result of Germany's packaging ordinance and the formation of the recycling organization Duales System Deutschland (DSD). This article shows that similar progress in the reduction and recycling of packaging could have been realized without the packaging ordinance and dual system, with lower costs. This regulatory impact analysis of the German packaging ordinance covers all the effects on the different life-cycle stages of packaging, from production to recycling or disposal. The conclusion is that a fragmentary solid waste management approach – one that is based, like the German packaging ordinance, more on ideology than on facts – leads to enormous costs and questionable ecological benefits. To improve this situation, there is a need for an integrated solid waste management approach, based on evaluation of the economic, environmental, and social effects of different waste management options for the materials involved. Received: February 4, 1999 / Accepted: April 30, 1999     

Recycling, landfill consumption, and CO2 emission: analysis by waste input–output model

The emission of waste in an economy, including landfill, is to a large extent determined by its patterns of technology, institutions, and lifestyle. A mathematical model (the waste input–output model) is presented that gives a simple analytical representation of this interdependence. The model was used to evaluate the effects of alternative waste disposal and recycling options on the levels of industrial production, landfill consumption, and the emission of carbon dioxide, and also to analyze the overall dependence on landfill of individual industries. It was found that a systematic combination of the options could be effective in reducing the overall landfill consumption and carbon dioxide emission. Received: November 4, 2000 / Accepted: August 2, 2001     

The use of chemical composition data in waste management planning--a case study

As the waste industry continues to move from a disposal-based system to one based on a combination of recovery options, the need for information on the composition of waste increases and this is reflected by the amount of information on the physical composition of municipal solid wastes that is now available. However, there is far less information on the chemical composition of municipal solid waste. The results from a number of chemical surveys from Europe are compared and show a reasonable degree of agreement, but several problems were identified with the data. Chemical and physical compositional data are combined in a case study example to investigate the flow of key potential pollutants in an integrated solid waste management system that uses materials recycling, composting, incineration and landfilling. This case study has shown that an integrated waste management strategy diverts lead and cadmium away from composting and recycling to incineration, which effectively isolates these elements from the environment through efficient capture of the pollutants followed by secure landfilling or recycling of the residues. However, further work is needed to determine the distribution of mercury in incineration residues and its fate when the residues are landfilled.     

The effectiveness of recycling policy options: Waste diversion or just diversions?

Recycling is becoming ever more important as waste generation rates increase globally. Policy-makers must decide which recycling practices to implement from the host of options at their disposal to best divert waste from landfill. This study strived to determine the most important characteristics in recycling programs that were associated with higher material recovery rates, including bag limits, user pay programs, the number of materials collected, curbside collection frequency, promotion and education (P&E) activities, Best Practice principles, and the type of recycling collection stream. Data collected from 223 recycling programs in Ontario during 2005–2010 were used to perform multiple regression analyses. The findings of this study suggest that attributes of convenience are more important to encourage recycling than those that penalize disposal, thus providing important implications for waste policy-makers, both in Ontario and in other jurisdictions.     

建筑垃圾循环利用实践

建筑垃圾的循环利用是今后建筑垃圾处理的必经之路。在对国内外建筑垃圾循环利用的相关政策、法律法规及回收现状进行比较分析的基础上,对目前建筑垃圾循环利用的案例进行调查整理,总结出建筑垃圾循环利用的一般过程;并在对目前建筑垃圾循环利用的方法进行研究后,介绍了一种先进实用的建筑垃圾循环利用方法;最后对我国建筑垃圾循环利用存在的问题进行剖析并提出解决问题的建议,以期对我国建筑垃圾循环利用的发展有所裨益。     

Energy efficiency of substance and energy recovery of selected waste fractions

In order to reduce the ecological impact of resource exploitation, the EU calls for sustainable options to increase the efficiency and productivity of the utilization of natural resources. This target can only be achieved by considering resource recovery from waste comprehensively. However, waste management measures have to be investigated critically and all aspects of substance-related recycling and energy recovery have to be carefully balanced. This article compares recovery methods for selected waste fractions with regard to their energy efficiency.Whether material recycling or energy recovery is the most energy efficient solution, is a question of particular relevance with regard to the following waste fractions: paper and cardboard, plastics and biowaste and also indirectly metals. For the described material categories material recycling has advantages compared to energy recovery. In accordance with the improved energy efficiency of substance opposed to energy recovery, substance-related recycling causes lower emissions of green house gases.For the fractions paper and cardboard, plastics, biowaste and metals it becomes apparent, that intensification of the separate collection systems in combination with a more intensive use of sorting technologies can increase the extent of material recycling. Collection and sorting systems must be coordinated. The objective of the overall system must be to achieve an optimum of the highest possible recovery rates in combination with a high quality of recyclables.The energy efficiency of substance related recycling of biowaste can be increased by intensifying the use of anaerobic technologies. In order to increase the energy efficiency of the overall system, the energy efficiencies of energy recovery plants must be increased so that the waste unsuitable for substance recycling is recycled or treated with the highest possible energy yield.     

Management of incinerator residues in Flanders (Belgium) and in neighbouring countries. A comparison

This paper covers the Flemish legislative tools concerning the management of bottom ash, fly ash and APC residue from municipal waste incinerators, with respect to their contamination with heavy metals. The situation in Flanders is compared to the one in the Walloon region, The Netherlands, Germany and France. Waste management in the countries considered differs on the level of available management options, of leaching tests and of limit values. To make an indicative comparison of leaching tests and limit values in the different countries, leaching tests were carried out on bottom ash and fly ash, and the results are compared to the relevant limit values for recycling and landfilling of the different countries. The comparison of legislations as well as the leaching results show that discrepancies in waste management between the different regions and countries exist. Recently, European limit values for landfilling became available. European legislation on recycling, however, has not been developed and urgently needs to be considered and drafted as the market for recycling can be expanding rapidly.     

Integrating multi-criteria decision analysis for a GIS-based hazardous waste landfill sitting in Kurdistan Province, western Iran

The evaluation of a hazardous waste disposal site is a complicated process because it requires data from diverse social and environmental fields. These data often involve processing of a significant amount of spatial information which can be used by GIS as an important tool for land use suitability analysis. This paper presents a multi-criteria decision analysis alongside with a geospatial analysis for the selection of hazardous waste landfill sites in Kurdistan Province, western Iran. The study employs a two-stage analysis to provide a spatial decision support system for hazardous waste management in a typically under developed region. The purpose of GIS was to perform an initial screening process to eliminate unsuitable land followed by utilization of a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) to identify the most suitable sites using the information provided by the regional experts with reference to new chosen criteria. Using 21 exclusionary criteria, as input layers, masked maps were prepared. Creating various intermediate or analysis map layers a final overlay map was obtained representing areas for hazardous waste landfill sites. In order to evaluate different landfill sites produced by the overlaying a landfill suitability index system was developed representing cumulative effects of relative importance (weights) and suitability values of 14 non-exclusionary criteria including several criteria resulting from field observation. Using this suitability index 15 different sites were visited and based on the numerical evaluation provided by MCDA most suitable sites were determined.     

An environmental analysis for comparing waste management options and strategies

The debate on different waste management practices has become an issue of utmost importance as human activities have overloaded the assimilative capacity of the biosphere. Recent Italian law on solid waste management recommends an increase in material recycling and energy recovery, and only foresees landfill disposal for inert materials and residues from recovery and recycling. A correct waste management policy should be based on the principles of sustainable development, according to which our refuse is not simply regarded as something to eliminate but rather as a potential resource. This requires the creation of an integrated waste management plan that makes full use of all available technologies. In this context, eMergy analysis is applied to evaluate three different forms of waste treatment and construct an approach capable of assessing the whole strategy of waste management. The evaluation included how much investment is needed for each type of waste management and how much "utility" is extracted from wastes, through the use of two indicators: Environmental yield ratio (EYR) and Net eMergy. Our results show that landfill is the worst system in terms of eMergy costs and eMergy benefits. Composting is the most efficient system in recovering eMergy (highest EYR) from municipal solid waste (MSW) while incineration is capable of saving the greatest quantity of eMergy per gram of MSW (highest net eMergy). This analysis has made it possible to assess the sustainability and the efficiency of individual options but could also be used to assess a greater environmental strategy for waste management, considering a system that might include landfills, incineration, composting, etc.     

Forecasting quantities of disused household CRT appliances--a regional case study approach and its application to Baden-Württemberg

Due to special requirements regarding logistics and recycling, disused cathode ray tube (CRT) appliances are handled in some countries as a separate waste fraction. This article presents a forecast of future household waste CRT quantities based on the past and present equipment of households with television sets and computer monitors. Additional aspects taken into consideration are the product life time distribution and the ongoing change in display technology. Although CRT technology is fading out, the findings of this forecast show that quantities of waste CRT appliances will not decrease before 2012 in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The results of this regional case study are not quantitatively transferable without further analysis. The method provided allows analysts to consider how the time shift between production and discard could impact recycling options, and the method could be valuable for future similar analyses elsewhere.