Life cycle assessment of a packaging waste recycling system in Portugal
- CEG-IST, ULisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisbon (Portugal)
- IST, ULisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisbon (Portugal)
- CESUR, IST, ULisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisbon (Portugal)
Highlights: • We modeled a real packaging waste recycling system. • The analysis was performed using the life cycle assessment methodology. • The 2010 situation was compared with scenarios where the materials were not recycled. • The “Baseline” scenario seems to be more beneficial to the environment. - Abstract: Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has been used to assess the environmental impacts associated with an activity or product life cycle. It has also been applied to assess the environmental performance related to waste management activities. This study analyses the packaging waste management system of a local public authority in Portugal. The operations of selective and refuse collection, sorting, recycling, landfilling and incineration of packaging waste were considered. The packaging waste management system in operation in 2010, which we called “Baseline” scenario, was compared with two hypothetical scenarios where all the packaging waste that was selectively collected in 2010 would undergo the refuse collection system and would be sent directly to incineration (called “Incineration” scenario) or to landfill (“Landfill” scenario). Overall, the results show that the “Baseline” scenario is more environmentally sound than the hypothetical scenarios.
- OSTI ID:
- 22443596
- Journal Information:
- Waste Management, Vol. 34, Issue 9; Other Information: Copyright (c) 2014 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, All rights reserved.; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0956-053X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Paper waste - Recycling, incineration or landfilling? A review of existing life cycle assessments
Waste collection systems for recyclables: An environmental and economic assessment for the municipality of Aarhus (Denmark)