We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
Assessing the Potential Climate Impacts and Benefits of Waste Prevention and Management: A Case Study of Sweden.
- Authors
Miliute-Plepiene, Jurate; Sundqvist, Jan-Olov
- Abstract
This study employs a life cycle perspective to analyze the carbon footprints of various waste streams, evaluating 52 cases across 26 types of household waste in Sweden, with a focus on waste prevention and management. It demonstrates that while recycling can reduce carbon emissions, prevention could significantly enhance these benefits, with savings ranging from −36.5 to −0.01 kg-CO2-eq per kg of waste. Notably, Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), textiles, tires, residual household, and plastic waste are the top five fractions most amenable to prevention on a per mass basis. Further analysis, considering waste volumes, shows that targeted recycling of materials like WEEE, metals, and paper could account for over 80% of potential carbon savings. However, the majority of potential climate impact is attributed to the energy recovery of unsorted (mixed) waste, contributing to more than 90% of total impacts. Redirecting all mixed waste to recycling could triple carbon savings, but focusing on prevention could potentially increase benefits twenty-sevenfold, particularly for waste like WEEE, food, and textiles. This research provides a valuable tool for identifying key areas in waste management to optimize climate benefits and enhance public awareness. However, it advises using local data for precise planning due to inherent uncertainties.
- Subjects
SWEDEN; WASTE management; ELECTRONIC waste; WASTE recycling; CONSCIOUSNESS raising; PLASTIC scrap; PACKAGING recycling; WASTE tires
- Publication
Sustainability (2071-1050), 2024, Vol 16, Issue 9, p3799
- ISSN
2071-1050
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.3390/su16093799