Evaluation of the Life Cycle of Household Waste Management Scenarios in Moderate Iranian Cities; Case Study Sirjan City

Abstract

Solid waste is one of the unavoidable products of every society that necessitates the establishment of municipal solid waste management system. Because of variability in quantity and composition of municipal solid wastes, several management scenarios are considered. Assessing the environmental impacts of the life cycle of these scenarios will have a significant role in reducing and resolving urban service management problems. The aim of this study was to compare different scenarios of municipal solid waste management using life cycle assessment (LCA) approach in a typical medium cities in Iran which Sirjan city is assessed as a sample. For this purpose, four scenarios were considered and the life cycle inventory (LCI) was accomplished using integrated waste management model (IWM-2) in each scenario and the results of the model were entered to OpenLCA software and environmental impact assessment of scenarios was carried out Based on the TRACI2014 method. The results showed that the fourth scenario, in the impact categories of acidification, eutrophication, ozone layer depletion, photochemical ozone formation and respiratory effects, third scenario in the impact categories of ecosystem toxicity, human health (carcinogenicity and non-carcinogenicity) and second scenario in the impact categories of global warming and resource depletion (fossil fuels) has the least environmental burden among other scenarios.