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Life Cycle Assessment of Integrated Municipal Organic Waste Management Systems in Thailand

Author

Listed:
  • Maneechotiros Rotthong

    (Graduate Program in Environmental and Water Resources Engineering, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University, Nakhon Pathom 73170, Thailand)

  • Masaki Takaoka

    (Department of Environmental Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, Kyoto 615-8540, Japan)

  • Kazuyuki Oshita

    (Department of Environmental Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, Kyoto 615-8540, Japan)

  • Pichaya Rachdawong

    (Department of Environmental Engineering, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand)

  • Shabbir H. Gheewala

    (The Joint Graduate School of Energy and Environment (JGSEE), King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok 10140, Thailand
    Centre of Excellence on Energy Technology and Environment, Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation, Bangkok 10400, Thailand)

  • Trakarn Prapaspongsa

    (Graduate Program in Environmental and Water Resources Engineering, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University, Nakhon Pathom 73170, Thailand)

Abstract

The majority of municipal solid waste in Thailand is organic waste including food and garden waste. Improper waste management has caused negative impacts on the environment. This study aimed to find a hypothetical municipal organic waste management scenario with the lowest environmental impacts using life cycle assessment (LCA). The system boundary of organic waste management includes collection and transportation; treatment, including centralized and on-site treatment technologies; and by-product utilization. The two main waste management systems considered in this study were centralized and on-site waste management systems. The first two scenarios take into account all the amount of the municipal organic waste collected and transported and then treated by centralized waste treatment technologies (composting, anaerobic digestion, and landfill). The remaining three scenarios are integrated between 10% on-site (home composting, food waste processor, and composting bin) and 90% centralized (composting, anaerobic digestion, and incineration) waste treatment technologies; the scenario combining centralized (food waste anaerobic digestion, garden waste composting, and incineration) and on-site (home composting) systems yielded the lowest environmental impacts (except short-term climate change, freshwater, and marine eutrophication). On-site systems can help reduce collection, transportation, and treatment impacts, particularly photochemical oxidant formation, which was proportional to the amount of waste or distance reduced. Benefits from the by-product utilization can offset all impacts in terms of fossil and nuclear energy use and freshwater acidification, and result in a negative impact score or impact reduction. This research can be used as guidance for developing countries with conditions and waste composition similar to Thailand for making initial decisions on environmentally sustainable municipal organic waste management.

Suggested Citation

  • Maneechotiros Rotthong & Masaki Takaoka & Kazuyuki Oshita & Pichaya Rachdawong & Shabbir H. Gheewala & Trakarn Prapaspongsa, 2022. "Life Cycle Assessment of Integrated Municipal Organic Waste Management Systems in Thailand," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-31, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2022:i:1:p:90-:d:1010307
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Zaid M. Aldhafeeri & Hatem Alhazmi, 2022. "Sustainability Assessment of Municipal Solid Waste in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in the Framework of Circular Economy Transition," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-18, April.
    2. Giovanni Mondello & Roberta Salomone & Giuseppe Ioppolo & Giuseppe Saija & Sergio Sparacia & Maria Claudia Lucchetti, 2017. "Comparative LCA of Alternative Scenarios for Waste Treatment: The Case of Food Waste Production by the Mass-Retail Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(5), pages 1-18, May.
    3. Tian, Hailin & Wang, Xiaonan & Lim, Ee Yang & Lee, Jonathan T.E. & Ee, Alvin W.L. & Zhang, Jingxin & Tong, Yen Wah, 2021. "Life cycle assessment of food waste to energy and resources: Centralized and decentralized anaerobic digestion with different downstream biogas utilization," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
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