Life Cycle Comparison of Two Options for MSW Management in Puerto Rico: Thermal Treatment vs. Modern Landfilling

Author(s):  
Giselle Balaguer-Da´tiz ◽  
Nikhil Krishnan

The management of municipal solid wastes (MSW) in Puerto Rico is becoming increasingly challenging. In recent years, several of the older landfills have closed due to lack of compliance with federal landfill requirements. Puerto Rico is an island community and there is limited space for construction of new landfills. Furthermore, Puerto Rico residents generate more waste per capita than people living on the continental US. Thermal treatment, or waste to energy (WTE) technologies are therefore a promising option for MSW management. It is critical to consider environmental impacts when making decisions related to MSW management. In this paper we quantify and compare the environmental implications of thermal treatment of MSW with modern landfilling for Puerto Rico from a life cycle perspective. The Caguas municipality is currently considering developing a thermal treatment plant. We compare this to an expansion of a landfill site in the Humacao municipality, which currently receives waste from Caguas. The scope of our analysis includes a broad suite of activities associated with management of MSW. We include: (i) the transportation of MSW; (ii) the impacts of managing waste (e.g., landfill gas emissions and potential aqueous run-off with landfills; air emissions of metals, dioxins and greenhouse gases) and (iii) the implications of energy and materials offsets from the waste management process (e.g., conversion of landfill gas to electricity, electricity produced in thermal treatment, and materials recovered from thermal treatment ash). We developed life cycle inventory models for different waste management processes, incorporating information from a wide range of sources — including peer reviewed life cycle inventory databases, the body of literature on environmental impact of waste management, and site-specific factors for Puerto Rico (e.g. waste composition, rainfall patterns, electricity mix). We managed uncertainty in data and models by constructing different scenarios for both technologies based on realistic ranges of emission factors. The results show that thermal treatment of the unrecyclable part of the waste stream is the preferred option for waste management when compared to modern landfilling. Furthermore, Eco-indicator 99 method is used to investigate the human health, ecosystem quality and resource use impact categories.

2020 ◽  
pp. 0734242X2095427
Author(s):  
Maribel Velasco Perez ◽  
Perla Xochitl Sotelo Navarro ◽  
Alethia Vazquez Morillas ◽  
Rosa María Espinosa Valdemar ◽  
Jéssica Paola Hermoso Lopez Araiza

Absorbent hygiene products (AHP) have received much interest due to the notion that their end-of-life (EoL) stage has high environmental impacts. Since the use of AHP will continue to rise in the foreseeable future, information that helps with a reduction in the environmental impacts of AHP through their life cycle is needed. This research presents an estimation of AHP in municipal waste, and it also reviews and discusses waste management options, available treatments at bench, pilot or full scale, and life cycle assessments (LCAs) available in the literature. Municipal waste of countries belonging to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development contains on average 2.7% of baby nappies, 4.8% of adult nappies and 0.5% of sanitary pads (in weight), whereas that of Latin-American countries have 7.3%, 3.3%, and 0.9%, respectively. Management options for AHP waste in developed countries are landfilling and incineration, while in developing countries AHP are disposed of in dumpsites and landfills. Most LCAs identify significant environmental impacts in the production of raw materials, while EoL scenarios involving incineration and landfill were found to have a significant contribution to global warming potential. Substitution with alternative products has been suggested as a way of decreasing environmental impacts; however, their use frequently causes a trade-off on different impact categories. Municipalities could use a wide range of policy tools, such as extended producer responsibility systems, bans, levies, ecolabelling, or a combination of these, to reduce the environmental and economic burden of AHP waste.


Author(s):  
Cody Taylor ◽  
Emily Bedwell ◽  
Amy Guy ◽  
David Traeger

As awareness regarding the potential threat of climate change has grown in the US, many local governments and businesses are being asked to consider the climate implications of their actions. In addition, many leaders, including solid waste managers, who are not yet pressured from the outside, consider it prudent to account for their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and consider it a proactive measure to assess climate risks and opportunities and to show commitment to progress. Sources of GHG emissions in the solid waste management process include: waste transport vehicles, composting facilities, processing equipment, landfills, and waste-to-energy facilities. Over the past 25 years, the levels of GHG emissions have been reduced through technological advancements in waste-to-energy, environmental regulations such as the Clean Air Act, landfill gas capture and control, and the promotion of recycling and reuse. There are many opportunities for solid waste managers to further reduce their GHG emissions levels, including promotion of waste-to-energy facilities as part of a low-carbon solid waste management plan. Waste-to-energy may also, in the future, offer potential revenue from the sale of renewable energy credits and carbon credits in emerging emissions trading programs.


2019 ◽  
Vol 90 ◽  
pp. 01007
Author(s):  
Farizal ◽  
Tammarar Ekky

This study determines the tipping fee of municipal solid waste in the city of Depok. Two methods used to determine the fee were the income and outcome approach, and the limited resource approach. Two conditions were assumed (i.e., waste management and landfill gas bioreactor availability). From the results, the ideal tipping fee was 97,704 IDR/tonne and the application of a landfill gas reactor could boost income, thus reduced the amount of the fee collected, especially in the early years of the landfill bioreactor in operation. The fees were 40,032 and 63,337 IDR/tonne for scenario 1 and 2, respectively.


2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 527-534 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shira Daskal ◽  
Ofira Ayalon ◽  
Mordechai Shechter

Regulation is a key tool for implementing municipal solid waste (MSW) management strategies and plans. While local authorities in Israel are responsible for the storage, collection, and disposal of MSW, Israel’s Ministry of Environmental Protection (MoEP) is responsible for the formulation and implementation of waste management policies and legislation. For the past 12 years, about 80% of the MSW in Israel has been landfilled and recycling rates have not increased, despite regulations. This paper presents the state of MSW management in Israel in light of the MoEP’s strategic goal of landfilling reduction, the regulations and legislation designed and implemented for achieving this goal, and the ensuing results. Among other things, the results indicate the importance of monitoring and assessing policy and regulations to examine whether regulation is in fact effective and whether it keeps track of its own targets and goals or not. It is also concluded that even when there is an extensive regulation that includes a wide range of laws, economic penalties and financial incentives (such as landfill levy and financing of MSW separation at source arrangements), this does not guarantee proper treatment or even an improvement in waste management. The key to success is first and foremost a suitable infrastructure that will enable achievement of the desired results.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 318-329
Author(s):  
Ademu Tanko Ogah ◽  
Mohammed Alkali ◽  
Obaje Daniel Opaluwa

The efficiency of solid waste management in Karu Local Government Area, Nasarawa State was studied through the administration of questionnaires to heads of household using systematic sampling methods. The study covered a wide range of socio-economic and demographic variables from the households, such that income of household heads, household size, educational status of household heads, methods and frequency/efficiency of waste collection; waste bins by households and disposals facilities used as well as the role played by government in waste management in the study area were investigated. The study area was divided into Masaka, Karu and Mararaba communities. The results were largely based on the data generated through the administration of questionnaires. 300 copies of questionnaires were administered to household heads in the three areas selected, where Masaka area had 75; Karu area had 108 while Mararaba area had 117. It was deduced that solid waste generated in all the areas remained for days or weeks without been evacuated and containers used for waste collection are not adequate, majority of household heads in the three areas use either plastic or metal buckets to collect and disposed their waste at the locations designated containers for such are placed and also that the socio-economic characteristics varied in all the three areas. Furthermore, at 5% level of significance, H-calculated (as against Ho, efficient waste management) for the three communities were 0.178<5.99<9.21, and are all higher than 0.05 with the implication that solid waste management is not efficient in all the areas. It is therefore, recommended that Nasarawa State should as a matter of priority release more funds to the body that is responsible for management of wastes through Nasarawa State Berau of waste management, a unit under Nasarawa Urban Development Board to cope with the increasing volumes of wastes in the study area. This will help to reduce the high rate of the likelihood of outbreak of epidemic.


2019 ◽  
Vol 116 ◽  
pp. 00020
Author(s):  
Farizal ◽  
Nadya Amalin ◽  
Amar Rachman

Among many approaches to manage municipal solid waste (MSW), waste to energy (WtE) program through running a landfill gas plant is believed the best way. It deals with waste and energy problems simultaneously. However, even though it offers inevitable benefits, in Indonesia WtE program implementation is stagnant. This study proposes an alternative funding scheme to run the program, i.e. based on resident participation. The study used willingness to pay from Contingent Valuation Method to disclose the participation level. For the purpose, a case study was taken place at City of Depok, West Java Province. The result reveals that the proposed funding scheme is an applicable way for the program. As much as 86% of Depok resident were willing to participate funding the project with the participation range of 20,000 to 200,000 IDR per month. The percentage is even higher, 88%, if there is an incentive such as electricity bill discount to the participants.


Author(s):  
Huang Shen Chua ◽  
Mohammed J. K. Bashir

Malaysia current waste management systems are not able to solve the disposal rates. The reduction of waste through 3Rs programme (reduce, reuse, and recycle) is in precontemplation stage. The municipal solid waste (MSW) condition is mixed and wet. The landfill and Thermal Treatment Plant (incineration) are the current practices for the MSW disposal. Landfill created leachate while incineration released unhealthy gases. Incineration failed due to the improper management and high cost of the operation. Torrefaction is needed before it goes to the incineration to improve the high heating value (HHV). The MSW pyrolysis and gasification are able to convert into valuable products (bio-oil, biochar, combustible gases). Combustible gases can be used to feedback into the incinerator. The heat of the incinerator can be performed waste to energy (WTE), which is able to convert into electricity as a Feed-in-Tariff (FiT).


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