Environmental and economic performance of an integrated municipal solid waste treatment: A Chinese case study

Zhiguo Wang; Jingxiang Lv; Fu Gu; Jie Yang; Jianfeng Guo

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.136096

Environmental and economic performance of an integrated municipal solid waste treatment: A Chinese case study

Sci Total Environ. 2020 Mar 20:709:136096. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.136096. Epub 2019 Dec 13.

Authors

Zhiguo Wang¹, Jingxiang Lv², Fu Gu³, Jie Yang⁴, Jianfeng Guo⁵

Affiliations

¹ School of Management Engineering, Anhui Polytechnic University, Wuhu 241000, China.
² Key Laboratory of Road Construction Technology and Equipment, Ministry of Education, School of Construction Machinery, Chang'an University, Xi'an 710064, Shaanxi, China.
³ Department of Industrial and System Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China; Key Laboratory of Advanced Manufacturing Technology of Zhejiang Province, School of Mechanical Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China. Electronic address: gufu@zju.edu.cn.
⁴ Department of Industrial and System Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China; Key Laboratory of Advanced Manufacturing Technology of Zhejiang Province, School of Mechanical Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China.
⁵ Institutes of Science and Development, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China; School of Public Policy and Management, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.

PMID: 31887493
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.136096

Abstract

The application of integrated municipal solid waste (MSW) management has become increasingly common for the mitigation of the ever-growing MSW stream. However, despite their popularity across the globe, little is known about the performance of integrated MSW management (MSWM) plants. This study quantitively investigates the environmental and economic performance of an integrated MSW treatment center in the city of Horqin Left Rear Banner, Inner Mongolia Province, China, using a combined life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle costing (LCC) methodology. Results indicate that the integrated MSWM plant is sustainable in both environmental and economic aspects, as the life cycle environmental impacts and economic costs can be offset by substituting virgin products with recycled counterparts. Amongst the included treatments, MSW separation, brick making and plastic recycling are the greatest contributors to the total environmental burdens and economic expenses. LCC results demonstrate that the equipment cost, tax and other asset costs are the greatest contributors to the total costs of the plant. Sensitivity analysis confirms that the increasing source separation ratio results in the reduction of environmental burdens and economic expenses via the usage of biogas and photovoltaic power. Furthermore, we offer recommendations for the promotion of the environmental and economic sustainability of integrated MSW treatment facilities.

Keywords: Integrated waste treatment; Life cycle assessment; Life cycle costing; Material flow analysis; Municipal solid waste.