Using life cycle assessment for municipal solid waste management in Tehran Municipality Region 20

Background: Due to the lack of a proper waste management system, Tehran Municipality Region 20 is facing economic and environmental problems such as the high costs of a disposal system and source pollution. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a method for collecting and evaluating the inputs, outputs, and potential environmental impacts of a product system throughout its life cycle. The current study purposed to provide a stable and optimized system of solid waste management in Tehran Municipality Region 20. Methods: The LCA method was used to evaluate various scenarios and compare the effects on environmental aspects of management systems. Four scenarios were defined based on existing and possible future waste management systems for this region. These scenarios were considered with different percentages for source separation, composting, recycling, and energy recovery. Results: Based on the results of this study, Scenario 4 (source separation [14%] + composting [30%] + municipal recycling facility [MRF] [20%] + energy recovery [10%] + landfilling [26%]) was found to be the option with the minimum environmental impact. In the absence of government support and sufficient funds for establishing energy recovery facilities, the third scenario (source separation [14%] + composting [30%] +MRF [20%] + landfilling [36%]) is recommended. Conclusion: The results acquired from this investigation will confirm the belief that LCA as an environmental device may be successfully used in an integrated solid waste management system (ISWMS) as a support tool for decision-making.