TITLE:
A Life Cycle Comparison of Remote, Deployed Expeditionary Waste Management Scenarios
AUTHORS:
David Chester, Chandrani Mukherjee, Jeremy Slagley, Eric Mbonimpa, Thomas Hornstein
KEYWORDS:
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), Incineration, Sanitary Landfill, Open Burn Pits
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Environmental Protection,
Vol.12 No.2,
February
26,
2021
ABSTRACT: The current barrier to acquisition and utilization of viable waste-to-energy (WTE) technologies at remote or deployed expeditionary sites requires high capital and operation & maintenance costs. The impacts to environment and human health of differing expeditionary waste management strategies were compared using the Life Cycle Assessment software SimaPro 8.0. Emissions of individual waste management scenarios were compiled from peer-reviewed literature, converted to values compatible with SimaPro’s waste scenario inputs, and the calculated impacts compared using SimaPro’s pre-loaded methodologies. These calculated impacts and the economic impacts confirm that open-air burning of waste is not only dangerous to humans and the environment, but is also not cost-effective. Considering the economic effects and the mitigated human and environmental health impacts, WTE technologies may be a viable waste management strategy for the future.