International Review of Waste Management Policy - Department of ...

Table 63-20: External Costs of Dry Recycling – Climate Change Impacts
Material
Material
1014
29/09/09
External External Costs Costs – Climate Climate Change Change Impacts
Impacts
High High externalities externalities
Low Low Low externalities
externalities
Paper - € 19.93 - € 16.52
Steel - € 38.57 - € 31.97
Aluminium - € 294.69 - € 244.29
Plastic - € 44.99 - € 37.30
Glass - € 9.64 - € 7.99
Textiles -€ 97.38 -€ 80.72
Notes
Analysis uses the typical values presented in Table 63-19 together with the external costs
presented
Data regarding the other air emissions associated with recycling materials is also
available within the Environment Agency’s life-cycle tool for waste management
processes, WRATE. 1255 These impacts are calculated using the Swiss life-cycle
database Ecoinvent. 1256 The inventory produced by WRATE presents data on a much
wider range of air emissions than is considered within the WRAP review.
Impacts calculated using WRATE are based on the differential (in air quality terms)
between products manufactured using virgin materials, and those manufactured from
recycled input. In contrast, the methodology used by WRAP also considers emissions
avoided as a result of recycled material not being sent for disposal.
Air quality impacts associated with manufacturing and re-processing will not have a
direct impact on Irish air quality where both of these activities takes place overseas.
Emissions avoided as a result of recycled material not being sent for disposal will,
however, directly affect Irish air quality. The principal avoided disposal emissions are
presented in Table 63-21. These impacts are calculated using the same methodology
as for calculating the impacts associated with residual waste.
Table 63-22 shows the air quality impacts associated with the re-processing part of
the system (i.e. where a product is manufactured from recycled input). In many cases
the production of goods from recycled materials results in reduced air quality burdens
in comparison to the manufacture of the same product from raw materials. Much of
this reduction results from the lower energy requirements associated with the use of
recycled input in manufacturing processes (this is particularly the case for non ferrous
1255 Available from http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/research/commercial/102929.aspx
1256 Ecoinvent (2004) Ecoinvent Data v1.1, Final Reports Ecoinvent 2000, No. 1-15, Swiss Centre for
Life Cycle Inventories, Dubendorf, 2004