Life Cycle Assessment of Energy Production from Municipal Solid Waste: Istanbul Case

Several methods are used during waste management: landfill, incineration, composting, anaerobic digestion, pyrolysis, and recycling etc. In particular, the use of biogas formed through anaerobic digestion in energy production and the energy obtained through the incineration process is very effective in turning the negative effects of wastes into positive ones. In this study, the effects of three different waste management scenarios were examined from a life cycle perspective. According to the results, scenario1 (landfill and incineration), scenario2 (landfill, incineration, and anaerobic digestion), and scenario3 (landfill, anaerobic digestion, and recycle) produced emissions of 3233.1, 328.8, and -848.9 kg of CO2eq, respectively. Accordingly, it is observed that the landfill application gave the worst environmental result, the incineration and anaerobic digestion applications reduce the environmental effects and the recycling application provides environmental benefits. It is concluded that the best environmental practice is plastic and metal recycling.