Life cycle assessment (LCA) has been defined as a
technique for assessing the environmental aspects and
potential impacts associated with a product, by compiling an
inventory of relevant inputs and outputs of a product system;
evaluating the potential environment impacts associated with
those inputs and outputs; and interpreting the results of the
inventory analysis and impact assessment phases in relation to
the objectives of the study [1].
LCA is a methodology considering the entire life cycle of
products or services – from cradle to grave (from raw material
acquisition through production, use, and disposal). It is thus a
holistic assessment methodology of products or services. LCA
has been proven to be a valuable tool to document the
environmental considerations that need to be part of decision
making toward sustainability [2].
LCA has been successfully utilized in the field of solid
waste management to assess environmental impacts of solid
waste management systems [3], to compare the environmental
performance of different scenarios for management of mixed
solid waste [4-7] as well as of specific waste fractions [8, 9].
A system approach does not always need to use impact
assessment. In many cases inventory data alone are sufficient
for an evaluation [10]. The term LCI (life cycle inventory) is
used to indicate that a study has excluded the impact
assessment phase [11].
Using LCA, an MSW management system is evaluated
based on a system-wide, referred in the study as a life cycle
perspective. A system which generates energy, such as
incineration with energy recovery, is credited with reducing
the amount of energy that would otherwise need to be
generated, typically at a power plant. If MSW management
systems are compared in isolation without accounting for the
system-wide environmental impacts, referred in the study as a
direct activity consideration, such a limited perspective may
distort one's view of actual environmental impacts because a