scholarly journals Social Life-Cycle Assessment of Household Waste Management System in Kabul City

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 3217
Author(s):  
Ahmad Nadim Azimi ◽  
Sébastien M. R. Dente ◽  
Seiji Hashimoto
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Waste Management ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Management System ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Social Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Household Waste ◽  
Waste Management System

The present study constitutes the first social life cycle assessment (SLCA) study in Afghanistan and aims at assessing the social performance of the waste management system (WMS) of Kabul city. The system boundary considered includes households generating the waste, the sanitation department of Kabul city, scavengers, recycling shops, the recycling factory, and the local community living in its vicinity. Compared to previous SLCA studies that consider one stakeholder per organization, we distinguished between the manager and the worker level for each organization. In total, eight stakeholders, 90 inventory indicators, and 20 impact subcategories were investigated. Results show three main social issues: the overwork of scavengers, recycling shop owners and recycling factories’ workers and managers, the absence of communication and implication of the local community, and the poor cleanliness of the surroundings of the recycling factory and collection points. At the sanitation department, managers were found facing more psychological stress and overwork than workers, demonstrating the current isolation of the department inside Kabul’s local government. It seems nonetheless possible to improve Kabul’s WMS by redesigning the location of garbage bins and conducting communication campaigns towards consumers and the local community. That would help to minimize the nuisances associated with the handling of waste and to integrate better waste management activities into the socio-economy of Kabul city.

scholarly journals Social Life-Cycle Assessment of a Piece of Jewellery. Emphasis on the Local Community

Resources ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuela D’Eusanio ◽  
Monica Serreli ◽  
Luigia Petti
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Assessment Method ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
Social Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
The Social

An increasing global focus on sustainability has affected the jewellery industry by raising questions about its environmental and social impacts and ethics due to the negative impacts of gold mining. It is essential to consider the social aspects of mining activities on the socio-economic environment and the affected individuals in order to understand the sustainability of the jewellery industry in a better way. Nonetheless, this is a gap in the evaluation of the issues of jewellery in the other phases of the life cycle, observed in the literature. For these reasons, the goal of this study is to assess the social and socio-economic aspects of a piece of jewellery from the artisan’s point of view by considering the relationship between a piece of jewellery and the local community. The United National Environmental Programme/Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (UNEP/SETAC) Guidelines on Social Life-Cycle Assessment, the UNEP/SETAC Methodological Sheets and the Subcategory Assessment Method were implemented. The findings show that a piece of jewellery can play an important role in supporting the local cultural heritage by innovating the traditional product, and promoting educational activities related to the history of the product and the territory. Consequently, the local community with its historical background gives an added value to the piece of jewellery. Further research on this topic is desirable in order to improve the knowledge of this particular sector and to identify other social issues that can be involved in this product.

scholarly journals A Prospective Social Life Cycle Assessment (sLCA) of Electricity Generation from Municipal Solid Waste in Nigeria

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (18) ◽  
pp. 10177
Author(s):  
Oluwaseun Nubi ◽  
Stephen Morse ◽  
Richard J. Murphy
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Municipal Solid Waste ◽  
Solid Waste ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Electricity Generation ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Social Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Electricity Supply

This research assesses the social impacts that could arise from the potential waste-to-energy (WtE) generation of electricity from municipal solid waste (MSW) in the cities of Lagos and Abuja in Nigeria. Social life cycle assessment (sLCA) was the main analytical approach used coupled with a participatory approach to identify relevant social issues to serve as the potential sLCA impact ‘subcategories’. Focus group research in both cities led to the identification of 11 social issues that were transformed into social impact subcategories with appropriate indicators for the sLCA. These were populated with data from a questionnaire-based survey with approximately 140 stakeholders. The results indicated that the impact subcategories “Improved Electricity Supply” and “Income” were ranked respectively as having the most and the least significant social impacts associated with the potential adoption of WtE in these two cities in Nigeria. Overall, the research showed that the expected social impact was higher for WtE electricity generation in Lagos than in Abuja. This difference may be related to the higher population and greater amounts of waste in Lagos and its position as a hub for many of the country’s commercial and industrial activities which have long been affected by inadequate electricity supply. This study also provides an example of the use of participatory processes as an important approach in sLCA for the elucidation of social issues that are directly pertinent to key local perspectives when considering such technology implementations.

scholarly journals Social Life Cycle Assessment of a Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell stack

2022 ◽  
Vol 334 ◽  
pp. 09001
Author(s):  
Eleonora Bargiacchi ◽  
Felipe Campos-Carriedo ◽  
Diego Iribarren ◽  
Javier Dufour
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Proton Exchange Membrane ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Social Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Inventory Data ◽  
Exchange Membrane

Hydrogen systems are gaining importance in view of a progressive decarbonisation of societies, and becoming more and more cost-competitive alternatives in many sectors (e.g., mobility). However, the sustainability of these technologies must be carefully assessed following a holistic approach which embraces not only environmental but also social aspects. Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA) is an insightful methodology to evaluate potential social impacts of products along their life cycle. In the frame of the project eGHOST, social risks of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stack were assessed through an S-LCA. The functional unit was defined as one 48 kW stack (balance of plant excluded), targeted for mobility applications. The supply chain was defined assuming Spain as the manufacturing country and involving from the material/energy production plants to the stack manufacturing. Beyond conventional life cycle inventory data, trade information and additional inventory data were retrieved from the UN Comtrade and PSILCA databases, respectively. Besides, working hours for the manufacturing plants of the stack and its subcomponents were calculated based on literature data. Social life cycle inventories were modelled and evaluated using openLCA and the PSILCA method. Two stakeholder categories, workers and society, were considered through the following social indicators: child labour, contribution to economic development, fair salary, forced labour, gender wage gap, and health expenditure. The choice of these indicators is in line with the eGHOST project purpose. Despite the relatively small amount contained in the product, platinum clearly arose as the main social hotspot under each of the selected indicators. At the level of component plants, the manufacturing of bipolar and end plates was also found to be relevant under some indicators. On the other hand, electricity consumption generally accounted for a minor contribution. Overall, in order to avoid burden shifting from environmental to social issues, a careful design of technologies is needed.

scholarly journals Life Cycle Assessment of an Innovative Food Waste Management System

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nilay Elginoz ◽  
Kasra Khatami ◽  
Isaac Owusu-Agyeman ◽  
Zeynep Cetecioglu
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Waste Management ◽  
Food Waste ◽  
Management System ◽  
Waste Management System

scholarly journals Improving Municipal Solid Waste Management Strategies of Montréal (Canada) Using Life Cycle Assessment and Optimization of Technology Options

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (21) ◽  
pp. 5701
Author(s):  
Tahereh Malmir ◽  
Saeed Ranjbar ◽  
Ursula Eicker
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Waste Management ◽  
Management System ◽  
Organic Waste ◽  
Solid Waste Management ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Municipal Solid Waste Management ◽  
Total Energy Consumption ◽  
Waste Management System

Landfilling of organic waste is still the predominant waste management method in Canada. Data collection and analysis of the waste were done for the case study city of Montréal in Canada. A life cycle assessment was carried out for the current and proposed waste management system using the IWM-2 software. Using life cycle assessment results, a non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm was used to optimize the waste flows. The optimization showed that the current recovery ratio of organic waste of 23% in 2017 could be increased to 100% recovery of food waste. Also, recycling could be doubled, and landfilling halved. The objective functions were minimizing the total energy consumption and CO2eq emissions as well as the total cost in the waste management system. By using a three-objective optimization algorithm, the optimized waste flow for Montréal results in 2% of waste (14.7 kt) to anaerobic digestion (AD), 7% (66.3 kt) to compost, 32% (295 kt) to recycling, 1% (8.5 kt) to incineration, and 58% (543 kt) to landfill.

scholarly journals Looking for Sustainability Scoring in Apparel: A Review on Environmental Footprint, Social Impacts and Transparency

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (11) ◽  
pp. 3032
Author(s):  
Anabela Gonçalves ◽  
Carla Silva
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Social Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Environmental Footprint ◽  
Fashion Products ◽  
The Social ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Responsible Consumption

Sustainability has been recognized as a major concern globally since the Brudtland Report, in 1987, and further reinforced in 2015 by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG) 2030. This paper reviews the methodologies and criteria of sustainability applied to fashion products, regarding products’ environmental footprint (environmental life cycle assessment/analysis; e-LCA), the social issues (including the social life cycle assessment/analysis; s-LCA) and the transparency in reporting sustainability. In our review we seek KPIs (key performance indicators) that allow classification of a pair of shoes or a piece of cloth on a scale from A to E, i.e., products can be compared with a benchmark and classified accordingly with a simple labelling scheme, which is easily understandable by the consumers. This approach is similar to those used to classify electrical appliances, housing energy consumption for thermal comfort, food Nutri-Scores, CO2 levels of road vehicles, and tire performance. In this review we aim to identify the initiatives and measures being put into practice by the top global fashion brands. We found that, despite the existence of GRI (global sustainability reporting initiative) standard reporting, most companies follow their own methods or others created within the industry rather than those created in the scientific community. Examples include the Higg index, the Transparency Index, and the Social Codes of Conduct (CoC). In this study, we conducted an extensive review of certification schemes and labels already applied to fashion products, and identified a multitude of labels and lack of harmonization in communicating sustainability. As result, we compiled a summary table of all criteria, methodologies, and possible KPIs that can be considered the basis for a benchmark and score of a fashion product. This topic is crucial to avoid “green washing” and a lack of transparency for the buyer’s community, i.e., business to consumer (B2C), and for the business community, i.e., business to business (B2B) relationships, which comprise a complex multi-layer supply chain of suppliers and sub-suppliers. The UNSDG 2030 “Responsible Consumption and Production” frames these efforts to facilitate standardization of KPIs in terms of structure, criteria, and their measurement. The most common KPI is environmental global warming impact (expressed as CO2eq) based on life cycle assessment/analysis (LCA) principles (established in 2000), which provide an appropriate base to monitor and benchmark products. However, in our innovative review of t-shirt e-LCA, we identified a wide range of e-LCA assumptions, relating to different boundaries, allocations, functional units, and impact categories, which represent a major challenge in benchmarking.

scholarly journals Life Cycle Inventory and assessment of the municipal solid waste management system: a case study in a municipality in southern Brazil

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-121
Author(s):  
Adan William da Silva Trentin ◽  
Adilson Moacir Becker Jr ◽  
Ênio Leandro Machado ◽  
Pâmela Andréa Mantey Dos Santos ◽  
Adriane de Assis Lawisch Rodriguez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Waste Management ◽  
Solid Waste ◽  
Management System ◽  
Solid Waste Management ◽  
Santa Cruz ◽  
Waste Management System ◽  
Solid Waste Management System

The present study conducted a Life Cycle Assessment evaluation of the Solid Waste Management System in Santa Cruz do Sul – RS, in order to provide background information and therefore support decision-making for future waste management scenarios. The software package named as Integrated Waste Management – 2, Version 2.5., was used to perform the LCA, where all inputs and waste management system outputs were identified and quantified. The conversion of the results from Life Cycle Inventory to Life Cycle Assessment in environmental impacts was carried out based on impact characterization factors from RECIPE 2008 version 1.08. The impact categories studied were: Photochemical Oxidant Formation Potential, Global Warming Potential, Acidification Potential, Eutrophication Potential, Depletion of the Ozone Layer Potential and Particulate Matter Formation Potential in addition to the Use of Energy and Final Solid Waste. The current waste management scenario has been simulated as baseline, considering three additional scenarios, which included raising the number of households served by selective collection, improvement of recycling recovery efficiency in the sorting stage and the introduction of the biological treatment stage into the system by composting the organic matter. The results showed that the current scenario is the most impacting, for global warming, with a total of 12,102,122.85 kg of emissions per year, whereas scenario 04 showed to represent the lowest contribution rates to environmental impacts in carbon footprint perspective (5,946,702.47 kg of emissions per year). The final disposal stage in landfills had also contributed significantly to environmental impact rates, followed by the waste collection scenario. The proposed changes, suggested by alternative scenarios, had demonstrate considerable environmental savings, hereby justifying the importance of implementing these strategies in waste management.  Keywords: Life Cycle Assessment. Environmental Impact. IWM-2. Solid Waste. Brazil.ResumoEste trabalho desenvolveu um estudo de Avaliação do Ciclo de Vida de um Sistema de Gerenciamento de Resíduos Sólidos na cidade de Santa Cruz do Sul-RS a fim de dar suporte a tomada de decisões para futuros cenários de gestão de resíduos. Para executar a Análise de Ciclo de Vida, foi utilizado o software Gerenciamento Integrado de Resíduos – 2 (IWM-2), Versão 2.5. Neste programa, as entradas e saídas referentes ao inventário do sistema de gerenciamento foram identificadas e quantificadas. A conversão dos resultados do Inventário de Ciclo de Vida para Análise do Ciclo de Vida em impactos ambientais foi realizada baseada na caracterização dos fatores de RECIPE 2008, versão 1.08. As categorias de impacto estudadas foram: Potencial de Formação de Oxidantes Fotoquímicos, Potencial de Aquecimento Global, Potencial de Acidificação, Potencial de Eutrofização, Potencial de Depleção da Camada de Ozônio e Potencial de Formação de Material Particulado além do Uso de Energia e Resíduos Sólidos Finais. O atual cenário de gerenciamento de resíduos foi simulado como base, considerando três cenários adicionais, os quais incluíam o aumento do número de famílias atendidas por coleta seletiva, melhoria na eficiência de recuperação da reciclagem na fase de triagem e introdução do estágio de tratamento biológico no sistema por compostagem de matéria orgânica. Os resultados mostraram que o cenário atual é o mais impactante para aquecimento global, com um total de 12,102,122.85 kg de emissões por ano, enquanto que o cenário 04 apresentou menores taxas de contribuição para esta categoria (5,946,702.47 kg de emissões por ano). A etapa de disposição final em aterros também contribuiu de forma significativa para a variação de impactos ambientais, seguido pela etapa de coleta de resíduo. As alterações propostas, sugeridas pelos cenários alternativos, demonstraram consideráveis melhorias ambientais, justificando a importância da implementação destas estratégias no gerenciamento de resíduos.  Palavras-chave: Análise do Ciclo de Vida. Impacto ao Meio Ambiente. IWM-2. Resíduo Sólido. Brasil.ResumenEste trabajo presenta los resultados del Análisis de Ciclo de Vida del Sistema de Gestión de Residuos Sólidos de la ciudad de Santa Cruz do Sul-RS-Brasil, para apoyar la toma de decisiones para futuros escenarios de la gestión de residuos. Para realizar el ACV fue utilizando el software de IWM, versión 2.5. En este programa, las entradas y salidas relativas al análisis del inventario fueron identificadas y cuantificadas. La conversión de los resultados del Inventario para la evaluación de los impactos se hizo con base en los factores de conversión RECIPE 2008 Versión 1.08. Las categorías de impacto estudiadas fueron: Potencial de formación de oxidantes fotoquímicos, calentamiento global, de acidificación, de eutrofización, de agotamiento de la capa de ozono, formación de material particulado, consumo de energía y los residuos sólidos final. El escenario actual fue simulado como valor de referencia. Otros tres escenarios fueron estudiados, los cuales incluyen el aumento del número de hogares con servicio de recogida selectiva de residuos, el aumento de la eficiencia de la etapa de separación de materiales reciclables y la introducción de la etapa de tratamiento biológico en sistema por medio del compostaje de la materia orgánica. Los resultados mostraron que el escenario actual es el más impactante en relación al potencial de calentamiento global, con un total de 12.102.122,85 kg equivalentes de CO2 de emisiones por año, mientras que el cuarto escenario mostró contribuciones más bajas para esta categoría (5.946.702,47 kg equivalentes de CO2 de emisiones por año). La etapa de la disposición final también contribuyó significativamente con los impactos ambientales, seguido de la etapa de recolección de residuos. Las modificaciones sugeridas y simuladas por los escenarios alternativos mostraron mejoras ambientales considerables, lo que justifica la importancia de implementar estas estrategias en la gestión de residuos.  Palabras clave: Análisis del Ciclo de Vida. Impacto al Medio Ambiente. IWM-2.5. Residuo Sólido. Brasil.

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