Plastic Solid Waste (PSW) in the Context of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Sustainable Management

• Published in: Environmental management (New York) Vol. 64; no. 2; pp. 230 - 244
• Main Authors: Antelava, Ana, Damilos, Spyridon, Hafeez, Sanaa, Manos, George, Al-Salem, Sultan M., Sharma, Brajendra K., Kohli, Kirtika, Constantinou, Achilleas
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01-08-2019; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Calorific value; Carbon monoxide; Chemical reactions; Chemicals; Climate change; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecology; Energy; Environment; Environmental Management; Environmental policy; Flue gas; Forestry Management; Hazardous wastes; Hydrocarbons; Landfill; Landfills; Life cycle analysis; Life cycle assessment; Life cycles; Nature Conservation; Nitrogen dioxide; Organic chemistry; Petroleum; Petroleum engineering; Plastics; Polyethylene terephthalate; Polyvinyl alcohol; Pyrolysis; Recycling; Regional development; Solid wastes; Sustainability management; VOCs; Volatile organic compounds; Waste disposal sites; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; Pyrolysis; Recycling; LCA; Energy; Plastics; Sustainable Management
• ISSN: 0364-152X; 1432-1009
• DOI: 10.1007/s00267-019-01178-3

Over the past few decades, life cycle assessment (LCA) has been established as a critical tool for the evaluation of the environmental burdens of chemical processes and materials cycles. The increasing amount of plastic solid waste (PSW) in landfills has raised serious concern worldwide for the most effective treatment. Thermochemical post-treatment processes, such as pyrolysis, seem to be the most appropriate method to treat this type of waste in an effective manner. This is because such processes lead to the production of useful chemicals, or hydrocarbon oil of high calorific value (i.e. bio-oil in the case of pyrolysis). LCA appears to be the most appropriate tool for the process design from an environmental context. However, addressed limitations including initial assumptions, functional unit and system boundaries, as well as lack of regional database and exclusion of socio-economic aspects, may hinder the final decision. This review aims to address the benefits of pyrolysis as a method for PSW treatment and raise the limitations and gaps of conducted research via an environmental standpoint.