Title
Transitioning from open dumpsters to landfilling in Peru: Environmental benefits and challenges from a life-cycle perspective
Date Issued
20 August 2019
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Publisher(s)
Elsevier Ltd
Abstract
The Peruvian waste management sector is steadily transitioning from a mostly informal and underdeveloped system based on the use of open dumpsters to a landfill-based system. The environmental consequences of these policies must be evaluated with environmental management tools such as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Therefore, the main goal of the study is to analyze the life-cycle environmental performance of waste disposition in three different landfills located in three distinct geographical areas of Peru: i)the hyper-arid coast; ii)the Andean highlands; and, iii)the Amazon Rainforest. With this aim in mind, a comparative analysis is provided regarding the waste treatment process as compared to other landfill technologies (i.e., biogas combustion or energy recovery)and open dumpsters. The modelling of these systems was performed with the EASETECH waste LCA tool, including a sensitivity analysis in terms of waste composition and waste decay rates. Results show that landfill gas (LFG)treatment reduces greenhouse gas (GHG)emissions considerably. However, these remain higher in the Amazon as compared to the Andean Highlands (+105%)and the hyper-arid coast (+17%). Most of the decomposition in the Amazon basin occurs within 5 years after disposition (80%)due to heat and humidity, whereas in the other regions values were below 55%. LFG treatment or recovery is necessary for these emissions to be lower than in open dumpsters. The implementation of these technologies would strengthen the country's action plan regarding the Paris Agreement in the waste sector. In other impact categories, the transitioning from dumpsters to landfills is most visible in the soil and water compartments.
Start page
989
End page
1003
Volume
229
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Ingeniería ambiental y geológica
Subjects
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85059196004
Source
Journal of Cleaner Production
ISSN of the container
09596526
Sponsor(s)
This project is part of the International Climate Initiative (IKI). The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB, Germany)supports this initiative based on a decision adopted by the German Bundestag. The authors thank Ignacio Sánchez and Adriana Zacarías, from UN Environment, as well as personnel from the Peruvian Ministry of Environment (MINAM), especially Ricardo Estrada and Roxana Díaz, for their critical review. Prof. Anders Damgaard is gratefully thanked for valuable scientific exchange. Gustavo Larrea-Gallegos, Percy Taco, Fernando Vargas, Jorge Joel Inga and Andrés Hinostroza are all acknowledged for their help throughout the project.
Sources of information:
Directorio de Producción Científica
Scopus