opportunities and challenges of using life-cycle
OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES OF USING LIFE-CYCLE ASSESSMENT TO ENCOURAGE MORE SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS MANAGEMENT S. THORNELOE Air Pollution Prevention and Control Division, Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, 27711, USA
From a sustainability perspective, the generation of waste is an inefficient use of natural resources. In the past 50 years, humans have consumed more resources than in all previous history. How society uses materials is fundamental to many aspects of our economic and environmental future. Scarcity of rare earth metals – widely used in electronics – is a growing concern causing manufacturers to reconsider design of products for easy disassembly – and recovery of metals and other resources. Products may be re-designed using different, fewer, less toxic and more durable materials when manufactued. Throughout a product’s life cycle (see figure), solid waste is generated from extraction or harvest of materials and food (e.g., mining, forestry, and agriculture), to production and transport of goods, provision of services, reuse of materials, and if necessary, disposal. Life-cycle assessment (LCA) tools can be used to evaluate the flow of materials across each life-cycle stage with the intent to use materials in the most productive way, thereby conserving resources and minimizing waste). The European Union, US EPA, and other countries have developed a non-hazardous materials and waste management hierarchy ranking waste management approaches in order from most to least environmentally preferable. The hierarchy places emphasis on reducing, reusing, and recycling as key to sustainable materials management. However, no single waste management approach is suitable for managing all materials and waste streams in all circumstances. Furthermore, some recovered materials may have a greater environmental benefit than others which will vary based on energy grid mix, population density, volatility in material recovery markets, transport mode, distance, and fuel to process units and other
Proceedings Sardinia 2017 / Sixteenth International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium/ 2 - 6 October 2017 S. Margherita di Pula, Cagliari, Italy / © 2017 by CISA Publisher, Italy
Sardinia 2017 / Sixteenth International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium / 2 - 6 October 2017
factors. So how do you dertmine how best to manage waste that is collected at the end of a product’s life? The focus of this paper is on tools for end of life management of collected “waste” to maximize energy and resource recovery and to minimize discards. Several tools are available in Europe and other countries and can be used to perform LCA of complex systems handling heterogeneous material flows for collection and transport, materials recovery facilities, transfer stations, compost facilities, combustion and refuse-derived fuel facilities, and landfills. The US EPA is developing a 2nd generation version of an LCA tool to analyze and compare differences in energy usage and recovery, environmental releases to air, land, and water; and the annualized cost of capital and operation and maintenance over time of each process unit [including landfills that may generate emissions (both waterborne pollutants and air emission impacts) for decades]. For each of these tools, there are opportunities to affect more effective environmental management. However, there are also challenges that need to be addressed. The focus of the paper will be to identify the challenges and needs of the tool user community to ensure that future applications of LCA tools for end of life management will provide information that is based on use of the best science providing a more systematic, credible, and comprehensive understanding of potential options that lead to more effective and efficient environmental management. This paper will undergo review by the US EPA’s peer, quality assurance, and administrative review prior to release for publication. REFERENCES Christensen, Thomas. Solid Waste Technology and Management, Wiley Publisher, Jan 2012. Kaplan, P. O.; Ranjithan, S. R.; Barlaz, M.A. (2009) Use of Life Cycle Analysis To Support Solid Waste Management Planning for Delaware. Environmental Science and Technology, 43 (5), 1264-1270; Kaplan, P. O.; DeCarolis, J.; Thorneloe, S. (2009) Is It Better to Burn or Bury Waste For Clean Electricity Generation? Environmental Science and Technology, 43, (6), 1711-1717. Kaplan, P.O., M.A. Barlaz, and S. R. Ranjithan (2004) A Procedure for Life-Cycle-Based Solid Waste Management with Consideration of Uncertainty. J. of Industrial Ecology. 8(4):155-172 McDonough, William, and Michael Braungart. 2002. Cradle to cradle: remaking the way we make things. New York: North Point Press. Thorneloe, S. A.; Weitz, K.; Jambeck, J. (2007) Application of the U.S. decision support tool for materials and waste management. Waste Management, 27, 1006-1020.; US EPA. Sustainable Materials Management: Non-Hazardous Materials and Waste Management Hierarchy; https://www.epa.gov/smm/sustainable-materials-management-nonhazardous-materials-and-waste-management-hierarchy; Accessed 3-17-2017. US EPA. Sustainable Materials Management; https://www.epa.gov/smm, Accessed 3-17-2017.
From a sustainability perspective, the generation of waste is an inefficient use of natural resources. In the past 50 years, humans have consumed more resources than in all previous history. How society uses materials is fundamental to many aspects of our economic and environmental future. Scarcity of rare earth metals – widely used in electronics – is a growing concern causing manufacturers to reconsider design of products for easy disassembly – and recovery of metals and other resources. Products may be re-designed using different, fewer, less toxic and more durable materials when manufactued. Throughout a product’s life cycle (see figure), solid waste is generated from extraction or harvest of materials and food (e.g., mining, forestry, and agriculture), to production and transport of goods, provision of services, reuse of materials, and if necessary, disposal. Life-cycle assessment (LCA) tools can be used to evaluate the flow of materials across each life-cycle stage with the intent to use materials in the most productive way, thereby conserving resources and minimizing waste). The European Union, US EPA, and other countries have developed a non-hazardous materials and waste management hierarchy ranking waste management approaches in order from most to least environmentally preferable. The hierarchy places emphasis on reducing, reusing, and recycling as key to sustainable materials management. However, no single waste management approach is suitable for managing all materials and waste streams in all circumstances. Furthermore, some recovered materials may have a greater environmental benefit than others which will vary based on energy grid mix, population density, volatility in material recovery markets, transport mode, distance, and fuel to process units and other
Proceedings Sardinia 2017 / Sixteenth International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium/ 2 - 6 October 2017 S. Margherita di Pula, Cagliari, Italy / © 2017 by CISA Publisher, Italy
Sardinia 2017 / Sixteenth International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium / 2 - 6 October 2017
factors. So how do you dertmine how best to manage waste that is collected at the end of a product’s life? The focus of this paper is on tools for end of life management of collected “waste” to maximize energy and resource recovery and to minimize discards. Several tools are available in Europe and other countries and can be used to perform LCA of complex systems handling heterogeneous material flows for collection and transport, materials recovery facilities, transfer stations, compost facilities, combustion and refuse-derived fuel facilities, and landfills. The US EPA is developing a 2nd generation version of an LCA tool to analyze and compare differences in energy usage and recovery, environmental releases to air, land, and water; and the annualized cost of capital and operation and maintenance over time of each process unit [including landfills that may generate emissions (both waterborne pollutants and air emission impacts) for decades]. For each of these tools, there are opportunities to affect more effective environmental management. However, there are also challenges that need to be addressed. The focus of the paper will be to identify the challenges and needs of the tool user community to ensure that future applications of LCA tools for end of life management will provide information that is based on use of the best science providing a more systematic, credible, and comprehensive understanding of potential options that lead to more effective and efficient environmental management. This paper will undergo review by the US EPA’s peer, quality assurance, and administrative review prior to release for publication. REFERENCES Christensen, Thomas. Solid Waste Technology and Management, Wiley Publisher, Jan 2012. Kaplan, P. O.; Ranjithan, S. R.; Barlaz, M.A. (2009) Use of Life Cycle Analysis To Support Solid Waste Management Planning for Delaware. Environmental Science and Technology, 43 (5), 1264-1270; Kaplan, P. O.; DeCarolis, J.; Thorneloe, S. (2009) Is It Better to Burn or Bury Waste For Clean Electricity Generation? Environmental Science and Technology, 43, (6), 1711-1717. Kaplan, P.O., M.A. Barlaz, and S. R. Ranjithan (2004) A Procedure for Life-Cycle-Based Solid Waste Management with Consideration of Uncertainty. J. of Industrial Ecology. 8(4):155-172 McDonough, William, and Michael Braungart. 2002. Cradle to cradle: remaking the way we make things. New York: North Point Press. Thorneloe, S. A.; Weitz, K.; Jambeck, J. (2007) Application of the U.S. decision support tool for materials and waste management. Waste Management, 27, 1006-1020.; US EPA. Sustainable Materials Management: Non-Hazardous Materials and Waste Management Hierarchy; https://www.epa.gov/smm/sustainable-materials-management-nonhazardous-materials-and-waste-management-hierarchy; Accessed 3-17-2017. US EPA. Sustainable Materials Management; https://www.epa.gov/smm, Accessed 3-17-2017.
