Use of Life Cycle Assessment and Risk Assessment in decision making: the case of Waste Management

PRESENTAZIONE CONGIUNTA DELLE ATTIVITA’ DI RICERCA DEI DIPARTIMENTI

Genova, 19 Dicembre 2012R I CERCHE

del Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile, Chimica ed Ambientale

Genova, 19 Dicembre 2012

U S E O F L I F E C Y C L E A S S E S SM EN T

A N D R I S K A S S E S SM EN T I N

D E C I S I O N M A K I N G : T H E C A S E O F

WA S T E M A NAG EME N T

D I C C ADipartimento di Ingegneria Civile, Chimica ed Ambientale

Dipartimento di Scienza per l’Architettura

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UNIVERSITA’ DI GENOVA

SCUOLA POLITECNICA

A d r i a n a D e l B o r g h iDepartment of Civil Engineering, Chemistry and Environmental (DICCA),

University of Genoa

Fiera di Genova_ Italy October, 30 2013





Sustainable development of processes M.Del Borghi, P.Costamagna, A.Del Borghi, M.Gallo, C.Strazza

Sustainable Development Team

1 kgM-Bi Loose Filler

100.00 %

0.9 MJEn.el. Italia media

tensione

10.77 %

1.05 kgM-Bi gran. PE

89.23 %

1.93 MJ

En.el. Italia mediatensione

23.13 %

1.05 p

Trasp. PVOH(mare)

1.53 %

2.83 tkm

Transoceanic ship

1.53 %

0.166 kg

PVOH

36.53 %

0.121 kg

PVAc (polyvinylacetate)

34.53 %

0.121 kgVinyl acetate

33.07 %

0.715 kg

Amido patate

23.55 %

2.29 MJ

MJth gas energy

12.74 %

1.96 kg

Patate

8.65 %

0.368 MJMJth diesel tractor

2.27 %

0.000963 kgActive pesticide

3.18 %

0.0246 kgKAS

1.68 %

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), eco-design, environmental labels and certifications

Greenhouse Gases (GHG) and climate change, environmental impact studies

Solid waste, wastewater and air emissions treatments



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CE.Si.S.P. (Interuniversity Centre for the Development of Product

Sustainability) among University of Genoa (Administrative seat), Polytechnic

of Turin, Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies of Pisa

www.cesisp.unige.it

treatments

Statistical analysis of process and environmental data

Process simulation, fault detection in process plants through pattern recognition techniques





Waste and the environment

The amount of waste we are creating is increasing.

The nature of waste itself is changing.

EU waste management policies aim to reduce the environmental and health impacts of waste.

However, the increasing complexity of



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However, the increasing complexity of current waste management systems and the increasingly demanding environmental protection targets make it challenging to optimise waste management strategies and policies.





The waste hierarchy

The Waste Framework Directive introduces a five-step waste hierarchy where prevention is the best option, followed by re-use, recycling and other forms of recovery, with disposal such as landfill as the last resort.

EU waste legislation aims to move waste management up the waste hierarchy.



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More information:

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/was

te/legislation/index.htm





A life cycle approach

All products and services have environmental impacts, from the extraction of raw materials for their production to their manufacture, distribution, use and disposal.



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The new Waste Framework Directive has introduced the concept of life-cycle thinking into waste policies. A key goal is to avoid actions that shift negative impacts from one stage to another.





Decision making tools

Decisions are made based on information of different kinds. Several tools have been developed to facilitate the inclusion of environmental aspects in decision-making on different levels.

Which tool to use in a specific situation depends on the decision context.

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Risk Assessment (RA) are both analytical tools applicable in process selection, decision making, design and optimisation.



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A recent survey showed that a considerable number of decision models and methodologies for the integration of lifecycle thinking and risk assessment into waste management have been developed for several waste streams and waste-management and treatment technologies.





Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

Life Cycle Assessment, ruled by ISO 14040 (2006), is an environmental management tool that enables quantification of environmental burdens and their potential impacts over the whole life cycle of a product, process or activity.



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Risk Assessment (RA)

Risk Assessment is a scientifically based process comprising four steps: hazard identification, hazard characterisation, exposure assessment and risk characterisation.



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LCA and RA

LCA and RA are two approaches often used separately for quantifying potential effects of products.

LCA RA

If the decision-making situation

concerns a choice between different

waste management options, such as

recycling, incineration and landfilling

To study certain substances within the

waste system, e.g., for incineration

plants



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recycling, incineration and landfilling

LCA covers potential impacts

throughout the life cycle and does not

include local and specific impacts

RA tool may complement the

information provided as concerns

issues such as compliance with

legislation, product safety, site-specific

decision making, prioritisation and

evaluation of risk reduction

measurements





Combining LCA and RA

The most common approach of combining LCA and RA is to include ecotoxicological and toxicological parameters in life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) used in a LCA.

Regulatory risk assessment and the impact assessment part of LCA use the



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impact assessment part of LCA use the same type of inherent properties data for the assessment of toxic impacts.

In waste sector, the combined tools can be successfully applied in several ways with a special focus on human health.





Life Cycle Impact Assessment



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Communicating LCA and RA results

To be effective and efficient tools the approaches of LCA and RA needs to be harmonised.

In the framework of Type III environmental labels (ISO 14025), (www.environdec.com), specific rules (PCR 2008:02, Product Category Rules) have been developed allowing the comparability of the



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allowing the comparability of the environmental results in the whole life cycle of the studied waste management services.

Common and harmonized calculation ruleshave been established in a participatory way to ensure that similar procedures are used for data collection and handling.





System Boundaries



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The Life Cycle Thinking (LCT) concept and quantitative tools such as LCA and RA can provide an informed and science-based support to a more environmentally sustainable decision-making in waste management.

By using LCA and RA tools, decision-makers may get general advice on choice of waste management options, but they also gain knowledge regarding the aspects that may have a significant influence on the choice of alternative.

Data and knowledge from RA are used as input to model the impact

Conclusions



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Data and knowledge from RA are used as input to model the impact assessment of chemical substances of LCA or LCA can act as a strategic tool to prioritise the data to acquire and the risk assessments to perform.

LCA and RA are often used separately, but an harmonisation of their approach and an integration into a common tool or approach that combines them is a strategic challenge to make more robust decisions possible.





www.cesisp.unige.it

[email protected]

@cesisp_GE

@ADelBorghi



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@ADelBorghi

Technology

Use of Life Cycle Assessment and Risk Assessment in decision making: the case of Waste Management