Abstract
Goal, Scope and Background
Gipuzkoa is a department of the Vasque Country (Spain) with a population of about 700,000 people. By the year 2000 approximately 85% of municipal solid waste in this area was managed by landfilling, and only 15% was recycled. Due to environmental law restrictions and landfill capacity being on its limit, a planning process was initiated by the authorities. LCA was used, from an environmental point of view, to assess 7 possible scenarios arising from the draft Plan for the 2016 time horizon.
Main Features
In each scenario, 9 waste flows are analysed: rest waste, paper and cardboard, glass containers, light packaging, organic-green waste, as well as industrial/commercial wood, metals and plastics, and wastewater sludge. Waste treatments range from recycling to energy recovery and landfilling.
Results
Recycling of the waste flows separated at the source (paper and cardboard, glass, light packaging, organic-green waste, wood packaging, metals and plastics) results in net environmental benefits caused by the substitution of primary materials, except in water consumption. These benefits are common to the 7 different scenarios analysed. However, some inefficiencies are detected, mainly the energy consumption in collection and transport of low density materials, and water consumption in plastic recycling. The remaining flows, mixed waste and wastewater sludge, are the ones causing the major environmental impacts, by means of incineration, landfilling of partially stabilised organic material, as well as thermal drying of sludge. With the characterisation results, none of the seven scenarios can be clearly identified as the most preferable, although, due to the high recycling rates expected by the Plan, net environmental benefits are achieved in 9 out of 10 impact categories in all scenarios when integrated waste management is assessed (the sum of the 9 flows of waste). Finally, there are no relevant differences between scenarios concerning the number of treatment plants considered. Nevertheless, only the effects on transportation impacts were assessed in the LCA, since the plant construction stage was excluded from the system boundaries.
Conclusions
The results of the study show the environmental importance of material recycling in waste management, although the recycling schemes assessed can be improved in some aspects. It is also important to highlight the environmental impact of incineration and landfilling of waste, as well as thermal drying of sludge using fossil fuels. One of the main findings of applying LCA to integrated waste management in Gipuzkoa is the fact that the benefits of high recycling rates can compensate for the impacts of mixed waste and wastewater sludge.
Recommendations and Outlook
Although none of the scenarios can be clearly identified as the one having the best environmental performance, the authorities in Gipuzkoa now have objective information about the future scenarios, and a multidisciplinary panel could be formed in order to weight the impacts if necessary. In our opinion, LCA was successfully applied in Gipuzkoa as an environmental tool for decision making.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bez J, Goldhan G, Heyde M (1998): Waste treatment in product specific life cycle inventories. An approach of material-related modelling. Part II: Sanitary Landfill. Int J LCA 3 (2) 100–105
Dall’Acqua S (1997): Separation into precombustion and combustion for the different thermal energy carriers of BUWAL 250. EMPA St. Gallen, September 1997
Davis J, Haglund C (1999): Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) of fertiliser production. Fertiliser products used in Sweden and western Europe. Master’s Thesis at the Department of Chemical Environmental Science, Chalmers University of Technology, SIK report no 654-1999
Delft University of Technology (1996): IDEMAT 96. Delft, The Netherlands
Diputación Foral de Gipuzkoa (2000): Plan Integral de Gestión de Residuos Urbanos de Gipuzkoa 2000–2016. Available online (in Spanish) http://www.gipuzkoa.net/ingurumena/hondakinen plana/index-c.html
Domenech X, Rieradevall J, Fullana P (1997): Application of Life Cycle Assessment to Landfilling. Int J LCA 2 (3) 141–144
Finnveden G, Johansson J, Lind P, Moberg A (2000): Life Cycle Assessments of Energy from Solid Waste. Forskningsgruppen för Miljöstrategiska Studier. FMS report 2000:2 http://www.fms.ecology.su.se
Frischknecht R, Hofstetter P, Knöpfel I, Ménard M, Dones R, Zollinger E (eds.), 1996. Ökoinventare von Energiesystemen. 3. Aufl., Gruppe Energie-Stoffe-Umwelt, ETH Zürich
Gómez M, Antiguedad I (1997): Control de lixiviados en los vertederos de residuos sólidos urbanos de Gipuzkoa. Revista Residuos, No 39
Grant T, Karli J, Lundie S, Sonneveld K (2001): Stage 2 Report for Life Cycle Assessment for Paper and Packaging waste Management Scenarios in Victoria. Stage 2 of the national project on Life Cycle Assessment of waste management systems for domestic paper and packaging. RMIT University, Victoria University, University of South Wales (Australia) http://www.cfd. rmit.edu. au/lca/LCAframe2.html
Guinee JB et al. (2001): Life Cycle Assessment An operational guide to the ISO standards, Volume 1, 2 and 3. Centre of Environmental Science Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
Habersatter K et al. (1996): Ökoinventare für Verpackungen. Bundesamt für Umwelt, Wald und Landschaft, Schriftenreihe Umwelt 250, Bern, 1996
Habersatter K et al. (1991): Ecobalance of packaging materials. Bundesamt für Umwelt, Wald und Landschaft, Schriftenreihe Umwelt 132, Switzerland, 1991
Hauschild M, Wenzel H (1998): Environmental Assessment of products. Volume 2: Scientific background. Chapman & Hall, London
Heijningen RJJ, De Castro JFM, Worrell E (1992): Energieken-tallen in relatie tot Preventie en Hergebruik van Afvalstromen. Nationaal Onderzoekprogramma Hergebruik van Afvalstoffen, rapport nr. 9210, NOVEM/RJVM
Heijungs R et al. (1992): Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of products. Guide and Backgrounds. Centre of Environmental Science (CML), Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
Hoglund L (1997): Landfilling of industrial wastes and ashes from waste incineration. Life Cycle Assessment and solid waste. Swedish Environmental Protection Agency. Report No 173
Houghton JT et al. (1994): Climate change 1994. Radiative forcing of climate change and an evaluation of the IPCCIS92 Emissions scenarios. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Huijbregts MAJ (1999): Priority assessment of toxic substances in LCA. Development and application of the multi-media fate, exposure and effect model USES-LCA. FVAM environmental research, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam
Kremer M, Goldhan G, Heyde M (1998): Waste treatment in product specific life cycle inventories. An approach of material-related modelling. Part I: Incineration. Int J LCA 3 (1) 47–55
Nielsen P, Hauschild M (1998): Product specific emissions from municipal solid waste landfills. Part I: Landfill model. Int J LCA 3 (3) 158–168(1998)
Sernagiotto Technologies (1999): Case study: sludge drying plant of the tanneries consortium waste water treatment plant of Arzignano (Vicenza, Italy). 4th European Biosolid and Organic Residuals Conference. Wakefield (UK) 15–17 November 1999 http://www.sernagiotto.it/
Smet E, Langenhove H, De Bo I (1999): The emission of volatile compounds during the aerobic and the combined anaerobic/aerobic composting of biowaste. Atm Env 33 (1999) 1295–1303
Steinhage CCM et al. (1990): Milieuinventarisatie verpakkingsmaterialen. CPM TNO for Van den Bergh en Jurgens, Rotterdam,The Netherlands, August 1990
White P, Franke M, Hindle P (1995): Integrated Solid Waste Management: A Lifecycle Inventory. Blackie Academic & Professional, U.K
World Meteorological Organisation (1992): Scientific assessment of ozone depletion: 1991. Global Ozone Research and Monitoring Project-Report No 25, Geneva
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Muñoz, I., Rieradevall, J., Doménech, X. et al. LCA application to integrated waste management planning in Gipuzkoa (Spain). Int J LCA 9, 272–280 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02978603
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02978603