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Substitution modelling in life cycle assessment of municipal solid waste management

Stéphanie Viau, Guillaume Majeau-Bettez, Laurent Spreutels, Robert Legros, Manuele Margni et Réjean Samson

Article de revue (2020)

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Abstract

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is gaining importance worldwide in guiding waste management policies. The capacity of co-products such as recycled materials and recovered energy to avoid primary production of equivalent products largely determines the environmental performance of waste treatment technologies. Estimating the reductions in resource use, emissions, and impacts enabled by this substitution of primary production is often the most influential and controversial factor in quantifying the overall environmental performance of a waste management strategy. This study aims to critically evaluate the modelling of substitution in LCAs of recovered material from municipal solid waste management systems (MSWMS) by answering two questions. First, to what extent is substitution modelling transparently documented in the literature? Second, are the substitution ratios justified to represent physically realistic replacement of one product by another? To address these questions, we performed a systematic analysis of 51 LCA studies on MSWMS published in the peer-reviewed literature. We found that 22% of the substitution ratios are only implicitly expressed. A significant proportion of substitution ratios is not justified (65%), while for the remaining 35%, justifications do not represent physically realistic substitutions. We call for more rigor and transparency, and we propose guidance for the documentation of substitution ratios, with the aim of reaching more credible and robust analyses. For the justification of a substitution ratio to be considered physically realistic, information should notably be provided concerning loss of quality, the function performed by substitutable materials, and the sector of use.

Mots clés

LCA; Substitution; Municipal solid waste; Modelling; Recycling; Energy recovery

Sujet(s): 1500 Génie de l'environnement > 1500 Génie de l'environnement
1600 Génie industriel > 1600 Génie industriel
1800 Génie chimique > 1800 Génie chimique
2300 Combustibles et technologie de l'énergie > 2303 Autres sources d'énergie (combustibles solaire, éolien, etc.)
Département: Département de génie chimique
Département de mathématiques et de génie industriel
Centre de recherche: Autre
CIRAIG - Centre international de référence sur le cycle de vie des produits, procédés et services
Organismes subventionnaires: Ville de Gatineau, Ville de Laval, Ville de Montréal, Recyc-Québec
URL de PolyPublie: https://publications.polymtl.ca/4080/
Titre de la revue: Waste Management (vol. 102)
Maison d'édition: Elsevier
DOI: 10.1016/j.wasman.2019.11.042
URL officielle: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2019.11.042
Date du dépôt: 10 déc. 2019 14:45
Dernière modification: 26 sept. 2024 10:45
Citer en APA 7: Viau, S., Majeau-Bettez, G., Spreutels, L., Legros, R., Margni, M., & Samson, R. (2020). Substitution modelling in life cycle assessment of municipal solid waste management. Waste Management, 102, 795-803. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2019.11.042

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