Quantification of environmental impacts associated with municipal solid waste management in Rajkot city, India using Life Cycle Assessment

Abstract

This study quantifies the environmental impacts associated with municipal solid waste management (MSWM) in Rajkot city, India using the life cycle assessment (LCA). Presently, around 0.2 million tonnes of municipal solid waste (MSW) is generated annually in Rajkot city and non-segregated MSW is preferably sent to open dumping. However, 70‒80% of the total cost of MSWM is employed in the collection and transportation which is sent to a centralized material recovery facility (MRF). Accordingly, the research hypothesis is built-up focusing on the current practice of MSWM to develop an environmentally sound and economical practice. Henceforth, four integrated scenarios (SC) comprise (i) SC1 open dumping of MSWM; (ii) SC2 a combination of anaerobic digestion (AD), composting, incineration, landfilling without energy recovery, and MRF; (iii) SC3 a combination of AD, composting, incineration, landfilling with energy recovery, and MRF, and (iv) SC4 a combination of AD, composting, landfilling with energy recovery, and MRF is examined using the LCA. The results exhibit the environmental impacts due to the potential emissions of greenhouse gases of tested scenarios following the subsequent order; SC1 (17600 kg CO2eq) > SC2 (1500 kg CO2eq) >> SC3 (511 kg CO2eq) >>> SC4 (285 kg CO2eq). Based on the results analysis, mandatory source segregation along with decentralized MRF is highly recommended where waste is converted as secondary resource materials. This study highlights the suitability for sustainable management of MSW for middle-income Indian cities and helps to achieve the targets of sustainable development goals.

Keywords

• Life cycle assessment
• Municipal solid waste
• Material recovery facility
• Waste incineration and landfilling
• Environmental burden