Environmental Benefits from MSW System Conversion According to EU Regulations

摘要

The municipal waste management practice in different European countries is different. Old member states (EU15) use wider variety on waste treatment methods including recycling, incineration and in minority landfilling - unlike in new member states where landfilling is still the major form of waste treatment. New member states generally need to change waste management policy to fulfil requirements placed in EU directives. Overwhelming majority of municipalities in new member states have to define future municipal waste management systems to make it economically viable and environmental friendly. Standard methods for assessing the environmental impact of waste management systems are needed to underpin the development and implementation of sustainable waste management practice.rnThe complex analysis of environmental impact of municipal waste management system before and after transformation - according to EU regulations - was presented in the paper. The analysis is done on the basis of CML 2001 methodology - which is recommended by EU - together with LCA approach. The evaluation is made for MSW system in Poland.