What life-cycle assessment does and does not do in assessments of waste management

Journal Article · Sun Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 2007 · Waste Management

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2007.02.015· OSTI ID:21023880

Ekvall, Tomas ^[1]; Assefa, Getachew ^[2]; Bjoerklund, Anna ^[3]; Eriksson, Ola ^[4]; Finnveden, Goeran ^[3]

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1. IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute, P.O. Box 5302, SE-400 14 Goeteborg (Sweden)
2. Industrial Ecology, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), SE-100 44 Stockholm (Sweden)
3. Environmental Strategies Research - FMS, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), SE-100 44 Stockholm (Sweden)
4. Technology and Built Environment, University of Gaevle, SE-801 76 Gaevle (Sweden)

In assessments of the environmental impacts of waste management, life-cycle assessment (LCA) helps expanding the perspective beyond the waste management system. This is important, since the indirect environmental impacts caused by surrounding systems, such as energy and material production, often override the direct impacts of the waste management system itself. However, the applicability of LCA for waste management planning and policy-making is restricted by certain limitations, some of which are characteristics inherent to LCA methodology as such, and some of which are relevant specifically in the context of waste management. Several of them are relevant also for other types of systems analysis. We have identified and discussed such characteristics with regard to how they may restrict the applicability of LCA in the context of waste management. Efforts to improve LCA with regard to these aspects are also described. We also identify what other tools are available for investigating issues that cannot be adequately dealt with by traditional LCA models, and discuss whether LCA methodology should be expanded rather than complemented by other tools to increase its scope and applicability.

• OSTI ID: 21023880
• Journal Information: Waste Management, Journal Name: Waste Management Journal Issue: 8 Vol. 27; ISSN WAMAE2; ISSN 0956-053X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT
PLANNING
SYSTEMS ANALYSIS
WASTE MANAGEMENT