Comparing Energy Use and Environmental Impacts of Recycling and Waste Incineration

What is the most appropriate way to manage waste flows has been discussed for many years, and to make a fair evaluation of the effects of the various handling methods, it is important that the evaluation be as comprehensive as possible. There are many tools for analyzing environmental effects of waste systems Finnveden et al. 2007b . The choice of tool depends on what effects are of interest and the type of system to be studied. Systems analysis has gained much attention in the waste management sector during recent years. This is illustrated, for example, in the European Union’s thematic waste strategy in which life-cycle thinking and life-cycle analyses are mentioned as important tools Commission of the European Communities 2005 . Life-cycle assessment LCA is a method for evaluating the environmental impact of a product or service from cradle to grave, i.e., from extraction of raw materials to production, use, and waste handling. The concept of “product” should be interpreted broadly here, so that various types of services, e.g., waste handling, can be studied as well. An international standard for life-cycle assessment ISO 2006 provides a framework, terminology, and certain methodological recommendations. LCA is also described in textbooks e.g., Baumann and Tillman 2004 and in the scientific literature e.g., Rebitzer et al. 2004; Pennington et al. 2004; Finnveden et al. 2009 . Several life-cycle studies of waste management systems have been conducted over the years Ekvall et al. 2007 . However, these studies have often viewed the problem from different angles and applied different system boundaries, and as a result, contradicting claims have frequently been in focus in the waste management debate. This paper has a different approach. It aims at taking the debate one step further by presenting only conclusions that actually can be drawn from the studies regarding the impact of different waste management options. The results presented are based on various LCAs for waste systems. The materials discussed are plastic, metal, glass, and paper, including cardboard and newspaper. In addition, key aspects of the waste-handling systems that influence the results are identified and discussed.