The global warming factor (GWF; CO2-eq. tonne—1 waste) performance of municipal waste management has been investigated for six representative European Member States: Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Poland and the United Kingdom. The study integrated European waste statistical data for 2007 in a life-cycle assessment modelling perspective. It is shown that significant GWF benefit was achieved due to the high level of energy and material recovery substituting fossil energy and raw materials production, especially in Denmark and Germany. The study showed that, despite strong regulation of waste management at European level, there are major differences in GWF performance among the member states, due to the relative differences of waste composition, type of waste management technologies available nationally, and the average performance of these technologies. It has been demonstrated through a number of sensitivity analyses that, within the national framework, key waste management technology parameters can influence drastically the national GWF performance of waste management.
Ademe (2007) La collecte des déchets par le service public en France, Résultats Année 2005 (Collection of waste by municipalities in France, Results Year 2005), (in French), 22 pp. Paris, France. http://www.2.ademe.fr/servlet/getDoc?cid=96&m=3&id=49902&p1=00&p2=05&ref=17597 (accessed April 2009).
2.
Barlaz, M.A. ( 1998) Carbon storage during biodegradation of municipal solid waste components in laboratory-scale landfills. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 12, 373-380.
3.
Barlaz, M.A. ( 2006) Forest products decomposition in municipal solid waste landfills. Waste Management, 26, 321-333
4.
Beigl, P. & Salhofer, S. ( 2004) Comparison of ecological effects and costs of communal waste management systems. Resources Conservation and Recycling , 41, 83-102.
5.
Beigl, P., Lebersorger, S. & Salhofer, S. ( 2008) Modelling municipal solid waste generation: A review . Waste Management, 28, 200-214.
6.
BMU (2009) MBA - mechanisch-biologische Behandlung von Abfällen (Mechanical-biological treatment of waste). Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz und Reaktorsicherheit (German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety). http://www.bmu.de/abfallwirtschaft/fb/siedlungs_produktionsabfaelle_/doc/3210.php (accessed April 2009).
7.
BMU (2007) Aufkommen, Beseitigung und Verwertung von Abfällen im Jahr 2005 (Arisings, disposal and recycling of waste in the year 2005), (in German) http://www.bmu.de/files/pdfs/allgemein/application/pdf/aufkommen_entsorgung_2005.pdf (accessed April 2009)
8.
Bruun, S., Hansen, T.L., Christensen, T.H., Magid, J. & Jensen, L.S. ( 2006) Application of processed organic municipal solid waste on agricultural land - a scenario analysis. Environmental Modeling and Assessment, 11, 251-265.
9.
Christensen, T.H., Gentil, E.C., Boldrin, A., Larsen, A.W., Weidema, B.P. & Hauschild, M.(2009) C balance, carbon dioxide emissions and global warming potentials in LCA-modelling of waste management systems.. Waste Management & Research, 27, 707-715.
10.
Clift, R., Doig, A. & Finnveden, G. ( 2000) The application of life cycle assessment to integrated solid waste management - Part 1 - methodology. Process Safety and Environmental Protection, 78, 279-287.
11.
Danish Ministry of the Environment (2008) Affaldstatisk 2006 (Waste statistics 2006). 250 pp http://www.2.mst.dk/udgiv/publikationer/2008/978-87-7052-753-8/pdf/978-87-7052-754-5.pdf (accessed April 2009).
12.
den Boer, E., den Boer, J. & Jager, J. ( 2005) Waste management planning and optimisation. LCA IWM. Stuttgart, Germany.
13.
Dones, R., Bauer, C.Bolliger, R., Burger, B., Heck, T., Röder, A., Faist Emmenegger, M., Frischknecht, R., Jungbluth, N. and Tuchschmid, M. ( 2007) Life Cycle Inventories of Energy Systems: Results for Current Systems in Switzerland and other UCTE countries. Data V2.0. Ecoinvent report No. 5. Villigen and Uster , Switzerland. 185 pp.
14.
Easewaste (2008) Database of EASEWASTE 2008, Version4:5:001. Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark.
15.
EcoInvent database (V2.0).
16.
Eggleston, S., Buendia, L., Miwa, K., Ngara, T. & Tanabe, K. ( 2006) 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories. Vol. 5 Waste. IPCC National Greenhouse Gas Inventories Programme, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, Hayama, Kanagawa, Japan. http://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/public/2006gl/ (accessed March 2009).
17.
Ekvall, T. & Finnveden, G. ( 2000) The application of life cycle assessment to integrated solid waste management Part 2-perspectives on energy and material recovery from paper. Process Safety and Environmental Protection, 78, 288-294.
18.
European Commission Joint Research Centre ( 2005) European Reference Life Cycle Data System (ELCD) Database. Category: End-of-life treatment. Subcategory: Disposal. http://lca.jrc.ec.europa.eu/lcainfohub/datasetList.vm?topCategory=End-of-life+treatment&subCategory=Disposal (accessed March 2009).
19.
Eurostat (2003) Waste generated and treated in Europe, Data 1990- 2001. http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_OFFPUB/KS-55-03-471/EN/KS-55-03-471-EN.PDF (accessed March 2009).
20.
Eurostat (2009) Municipal solid waste generation, landfilling, incineration, recycling and composting from 1995 to 2007. Environment and energy. Environmental Data Centre on Waste. http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/waste/data/sectors/municipal (accessed October 2009).
21.
Finnveden, G., Johansson, J., Lind, P. & Moberg, Å. ( 2000) Life Cycle Assessments of Energy from Solid Waste . Pub. Stockholms Universitet. Stockholm, Sweden.
22.
Fisher, K. ( 2006) Impact of Energy from Waste and Recycling Policy on UK Greenhouse Gas Emissions - Final Report. Prepared by Environment Resource Management (ERM) for Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), Oxford, UK. http://randd.defra.gov.uk/Document.aspx?Document=WR0609_5737_FRP.pdf (accessed February 2009).
23.
Gentil, E., Potter, A. & Boldrin, A. ( 2008) Carbon footprinting of export of second-life materials using lifecycle thinking. In: Proc. Waste 2008: Waste and Resource Management - a Shared Responsibility. Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England, 16-17 September 2008.
24.
Grundmann, V. ( 2009) Research and Construction of Data Sets for Implementation in EASEWASTE and Subsequent LCA Modelling of MBS Facilities. DTU, Lyngby, Denmark. 87 pp.
25.
Hansen, T.L., Bhander, G.S., Christensen, T.H., Bruun, S. & Jensen, L.S. ( 2006) Life cycle modelling of environmental impacts of application of processed organic municipal solid waste on agricultural land (EASEWASTE) . Waste Management & Research, 24, 153.
26.
IEA (2009): International Energy Agency Statistics, Electricity/Heat in 2006. http://www.iea.org/Textbase/stats/prodresult.asp?PRODUCT=Electricity/Heat (accessed March 2009).
27.
Ipcc (2006) 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, Volume 5: Waste. Chapter 3: Solid Waste Disposal, Prepared by the National Greenhouse Gas Inventories Programme, Eggleston H.S., Buendia L., Miwa K., Ngara T. & Tanabe K. (eds). IGES, Japan.
28.
Iswa (2006): Energy from Waste, State-of-the-Art-Report, Statistics 5th Edition. Rambøll Danmark A/S. Published by ISWA Working Group on Thermal Treatment of Waste, Copenhagen , Denmark.
29.
Kirkeby, J.T., Birgisdottir, H., Hansen, T.L., Christensen, T.H., Bhander, G.S. & Hauschild, M. ( 2006) Environmental assessment of solid waste systems and technologies: EASEWASTE. Waste Management & Research , 24, 3.
30.
Kleis, H. & Dalager, S. ( 2005) 100 years of waste incineration in Denmark. From Refuse Destruction Plants to High-technology Energy Works. DTU , Copenhagen. Denmark.
31.
Koneczny, K. & Pennington, D. ( 2007) Environmental Assessment of Municipal Waste Management Scenarios: Part II - Detailed Life Cycle Assessments. European Commission Joint Research Centre. http://viso.jrc.ec.europa.eu/lca-waste-partII.pdf (accessed March 2009).
32.
Manfredi, S. & Christensen, T.H.(2009) Environmental assessment of solid waste landfilling technologies by means of LCA-modeling. Waste Management, 29, 32-43.
33.
McDougall, F., White, P., Franke, M. & Hindle, P. ( 2001) Integrated Solid Waste Management: A Life Cycle Inventory . Blackwell, Science, London.
Oros, C. ( 2009) Establishment of a Generic Mass Flow Model of MBP Plants with MFS and Implementation to EASEWASTE for LCA Modeling in Comparison with Other Waste Treatment Technologies. DTU, Lyngby, Denmark. 134 pp.
36.
Ragossnig, A.M., Wartha, C. & Kirchner, A. ( 2008) Energy efficiency in waste-to-energy and its relevance with regard to climate control. Waste Management & Research , 26, 70-77.
37.
Riber, C., Bhander, G.S. & Christensen, T.H. ( 2008) Environmental assessment of waste incineration in a life-cycle-perspective (EASEWASTE). Waste Management & Research, 26, 96-103.
38.
Riber, C., Pedersen, C. & Christensen, T.H. ( 2009). Chemical composition of material fractions in Danish household waste. Waste Management, 29, 1251-1257.
39.
Salhofer, S., Schneider, F. & Obersteiner, G. ( 2007) The ecological relevance of transport in waste disposal systems in Western Europe. Waste Management, 27, 47-57.
40.
Sander, K. ( 2008) Climate protection potentials of EU recycling targets . Ökopol GmbH. http://www.eeb.org/publication/documents/RecyclingClimateChangePotentials.pdf (accessed March 2009).
41.
Skovgaard, M., Villanueva, A., Moeller, F. & Larsen, H. ( 2007) Environmental Outlook: Municipal Waste. ETC/RWM Working Paper 2007/ 1. European Topic Centre on Resource and Waste Management, Copenhagen, Denmark.
42.
Skovgaard, M., Hedal, N., Villanueva, A., Andersen F.M. & Larsen, H. ( 2008) Municipal Waste Management and Greenhouse Gases. ETC/ RWM Working Paper 2008/1. European Topic Centre on Resource and Waste Management, Copenhagen, Denmark.
43.
Skovgaard, M., Hedal, N., Bakas, I., Andersen F.M. & Larsen, H. ( 2009) Projections of Municipal Waste Management and Greenhouse Gases. ETC/RWM Working Paper 2009/1. European Topic Centre on Resource and Waste Management, Copenhagen, Denmark.
44.
Smith, A., Brown, K., Ogilvie, S., Rushton, K. & Bates, J. ( 2001) Waste Management Options and Climate Change - Final Report to the European Commission, DG Environment, Luxembourg. Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg.
45.
Steiner, M. ( 2005) Status of mechanical-biological treatment of residual waste and utilization of refuse-derived fuels in Europe. In: Conference Proceeding. Orbit 2005. The Future of Residual Waste Management in Europe. Paper proceedings, 17th-18th November 205, Luxembourg.
