Comparative environmental impact assessment of the landfilling and incineration of residual waste in Krakow

The methodology of life cycle assessment (LCA) is a valuable tool for identifying and assessing the environmental impacts caused by waste management scenarios. The aim of this study was to perform a comparative LCA of two scenarios of municipal waste management system in Krakow, Poland. The assessment is limited to residual (mixed) waste. Under the former scenario, residual waste is landfilled at a well-equipped facility, while under the latter scenario, residual waste is incinerated in a thermal treatment plant with energy recovery. Landfilling represents a real situation for 2010, when all residual waste was landfilled, incinerating expresses the plan for 2016. The elements of the scenarios such as collection and treatments of separately collected waste are excluded from the system boundaries. The modeling of the environmental impact is done by the EASETECH model, employing EDIP 2003 methodology. The final results are expressed in person equivalent (PE) units. Both scenarios have negative impacts on the environment, however the impact for incineration is much lower than for landfilling. In respect of landfilling, the significant impact categories are photochemical ozone formation, global warming, eutrophication and human toxicity. Regarding incineration, significant impact categories include eutrophication, photochemical zone formation, acidification and human toxicity.