Evolution of municipal waste management in Belgium (Liège) for the last thirty years using Life Cycle Assessment

peer reviewedThe goal of this study was to evaluate the improvement of waste management through the last thirty years. Four steps of time and of technologies of waste treatment were evaluated. The first scenario is situated before 1970 with waste landfilling without recuperation and valorization of gas. The second one considers the situation between 1990 and 2009 with a unit comprising grinding and sorting of waste to obtain fluff which was burnt in an incinerator, remaining waste being sent to sanitary landfill with recuperation and valorization of gas. The third one is the current one, in operation since 2009, with incineration of the whole of the residual municipal waste. The last scenario is about future considering the current installation and adding a biomethanation of the biodegradable fraction of household waste. Main result of this study is the improvement through years starting from the important environmental impact of landfilling to a negative impact with the current installation coupled with biomethanation. Global warming impact from the eighties was reduced by 4 in the years 1990-2008, by 6 for the current scenario alone or coupled with a biomethanation plant. Valorization of electricity is helpful to reduce consumptions of fuels and associated impacts. This study confirms the improvement of technologies and emissions of waste management through years