• Journal of Korea Society of Waste Management
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• v.35 no.7
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• pp.606-615
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• 2018

Over the past two decades, the options for solid waste management have been changing from land disposal to recycling, waste-to-energy, and incineration due to growing attention for resource and energy recovery. In addition, the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission has become an issue of concern in the waste sector because such gases often released into the atmosphere during the waste management processes (e.g., biodegradation in landfills and combustion by incineration) can contribute to climate change. In this study, the emission and reduction rates of GHGs by the municipal solid waste (MSW) management options in D city have been studied for the years 1996-2016. The emissions and reduction rates were calculated according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change guidelines and the EU Prognos method, respectively. A dramatic decrease in the waste landfilled was observed between 1996 and 2004, after which its amount has been relatively constant. Waste recycling and incineration have been increased over the decades, leading to a peak in the GHG emissions from landfills of approximately $63,323tCO_2\;eq/yr$ in 2005, while the lowest value of $35,962tCO_2\;eq/yr$ was observed in 2016. In 2016, the estimated emission rate of GHGs from incineration was $59,199tCO_2\;eq/yr$. The reduction rate by material recycling was the highest ($-164,487tCO_2\;eq/yr$) in 2016, followed by the rates by heat recovery with incineration ($-59,242tCO_2\;eq/yr$) and landfill gas recovery ($-23,922tCO_2\;eq/yr$). Moreover, the cumulative GHG reduction rate between 1996 and 2016 was $-3.46MtCO_2\;eq$, implying a very positive impact on future $CO_2$ reduction achieved by waste recycling as well as heat recovery of incineration and landfill gas recovery. This study clearly demonstrates that improved MSW management systems are positive for GHGs reduction and energy savings. These results could help the waste management decision-makers supporting the MSW recycling and energy recovery policies as well as the climate change mitigation efforts at local government level.