Implication of Municipal Solid Waste Management in developing countries on Greenhouse gas emission

Ruchira Ghosh, Arun Kansal, Shyamali Singh (Editor)

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

Abstract

In recent decades, understanding the inter-linkages between solid waste management (SWM) strategies and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions has garnered much interest. Research and experience suggests that beside consumption of energy for urban waste collection and disposal, the sector offer potential to generate energy through different waste treatment methods. Various disposal strategies have different implications on GHG emission, and choice of disposal option can have long-term impacts due to long lock-in period of waste infrastructure. Considering that developing countries have huge requirement to build waste infrastructure, they have an opportunity to adopt a low carbon waste management pathway. This paper reviews GHG implication of waste management options. The paper finds waste disposal technologies can be net emitters of carbon in situations where inter-fuel and material substitution is not done appropriately. Further, maximizing waste-to-energy potential is not always directly proportional to GHG saving. Therefore, to achieve low carbon waste management, the ideal choice of technologies should be supported by upstream and downstream management strategies. Second, there is variability in GHG estimates in literature which are attributable to differences in the definitions of waste streams and GHG accounting convention, and assumptions in estimation models among others.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationThe Urban Environmental Crisis in India
Subtitle of host publicationNew initiatives in Safe Water and Waste Management
EditorsShyamali Singh, Ashish Jain, Radha Goyal
Place of PublicationUnited Kingdom
PublisherCambridge Scholar Publishing
Chapter12
Pages190
Number of pages206
EditionUnabridged edition
ISBN (Electronic)ISBN-13: 978-1443879606
ISBN (Print)ISBN-10: 1443879606
Publication statusPublished (in print/issue) - 24 Jul 2017

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