ECI Digital Archives

Title

Optimizing resource and energy recovery for municipal solid waste Management

Authors

Susan Thorneloe, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Risk Management Research Laboratory, Air Pollution Prevention and Control Division [E343-02], 109 TW Alexander Drive, USAFollow
Ozge Kaplan, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Risk Management Research Laboratory, Air Pollution Prevention and Control Division [E343-02], 109 TW Alexander Drive, USA

Conference Dates

June 5-10, 2016

Abstract

Significant reductions of carbon emissions and air quality impacts can be achieved by optimizing municipal solid waste (MSW) as a resource. Materials and discards management were found to contribute ~40% of overall U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as a result of materials extraction, transport, collection, processing, recycling, composting, combustion, and landfilling. Decisions affecting materials management today are generally either fiscally based or based on the presumption of favorable outcomes without an understanding of the environmental tradeoffs. However, there is a growing demand to better understand and quantify the net environmental and energy trade-offs in setting waste management goals and priorities at a state and local level.

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Recommended Citation

Susan Thorneloe and Ozge Kaplan, "Optimizing resource and energy recovery for municipal solid waste Management" in "Life Cycle Assessment and Other Assessment Tools for Waste Management and Resource Optimization", Professor Umberto Arena, Second University of Naples, Italy Professor Thomas Astrup, Denmark Technical University, Denmark Professor Paola Lettieri, University College London, United Kingdom Eds, ECI Symposium Series, (2016). https://dc.engconfintl.org/lca_waste/18