Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from conventional solid waste management in developing Asian
countries contribute significantly to global climate change. This paper argues that moving towards Integrated
Solid Waste Management (ISWM) offers a practical solution for mitigating these GHG emissions
and for realising socio-economic as well as other environmental benefits. The study assesses the GHG
emissions of an existing ISWM system in Muangklang Municipality, Thailand as compared to conventional
treatment from a life cycle perspective. The integrated system which recovers nutrients, materials
and energy from the waste stream, and reduces landfill disposal of organic and recyclable waste was
found to have reduced GHG emissions very significantly compared to conventional landfill disposal,
which is currently the most common waste treatment technology in Thailand. Among the individual
technologies assessed, materials recycling was found to offer the largest reductions in GHG emissions
from a life-cycle perspective. The calculations indicate that a properly designed integrated system with
high but fully realistic recovery rates can drastically reduce the climate impact of waste management.
Most municipalities in developing Asia are small-to-medium scale and share many characteristics with
Muangklang. Therefore, the authors argue that most municipalities in the region could apply this type of
low-cost locally adapted ISWM system. This would have numerous sustainability benefits, including
drastically reduced GHG emissions.