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

933
� Biogas for vehicle fuels?
� Electricity generation?
� Heat generation?
� Combined heat and power?
� Use in hydrogen cells?
o Will combustion / thermal treatment processes generate:
� Electricity?
� Heat?
� Combined heat and power?
� Syngas for chemical synthesis (thermal treatment)?
� heat, syngas, etc.)
o Where RDF is produced, will it be used for:
� Combustion in a fluidized bed incinerator
� Combustion in a cement kiln
� Combustion in a power station
� Options in respect of residues from thermal processes?
The point being made is that there are an almost infinite number of possible
arrangements (and the possibilities are increasing in number all the time). So Ayres’
apparently obvious statement becomes all the more significant when the sheer
complexity of the problem being addressed is understood.
The weaknesses of LCA in the context of waste management options appraisal have
been detailed elsewhere. 1143 Briefly, the key issues are:
� The accuracy / validity of the weightings attributed to pollutants in impact
assessment categories;
� The tendency to seek datasets for the sake of completeness without
necessarily assessing the quality of the data, its vintage, or its relevance;
� Insensitivity to location of the emissions (and hence, the potential receptors);
� Insensitivity to time (implying that effects related to concentration are not
captured);
� Inability to account for effects not related to the flow of pollutants (such as
disamenity); and
� Aggregation of impacts across impact assessment categories.
Each of these issues raises problems for the practitioner. In addition, it is clear that
some assumptions have a significant effect on results. Some of these are discussed
below with regard to CBAs, which are similarly affected by the assumptions made.
1143 D. Hogg (2004) Costs and benefits of Bioprocesses in Waste Management, in P. Lens, B.
Hamelers, H. Hoitink and W. Bidlingmaier (2004) Resource Recovery and Reuse in Organic Solid
Waste Management, London: IWA Publishing, pp.95-121.
International Review of Waste Policy: Annexes