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Evaluating landfill aftercare strategies: a life cycle assessment approach

Evaluating landfill aftercare strategies: a life cycle assessment approach
Evaluating landfill aftercare strategies: a life cycle assessment approach
This study investigates the potential impacts caused by the loss of active environmental control measures during the aftercare period of landfill management. A combined mechanistic solute flow model and life cycle assessment (LCA) approach was used to evaluate the potential impacts of leachate emissions over a 10,000 year time horizon. A continuum of control loss possibilities occurring at different times and for different durations were investigated for four different basic aftercare scenarios, including a typical aftercare scenario involving a low permeability cap and three accelerated aftercare scenarios involving higher initial infiltration rates. Assuming a ‘best case’ where control is never lost, the largest potential impacts resulted from the typical aftercare scenario. The maximum difference between potential impacts from the ‘best case’ and the ‘worst case’, where control fails at the earliest possible point and is never reinstated, was only a fourfold increase. This highlights potential deficiencies in standard life cycle impact assessment practice, which are discussed. Nevertheless, the results show how the influence of active control loss on the potential impacts of landfilling varies considerably depending on the aftercare strategy used and highlight the importance that leachate treatment efficiencies have upon impacts
0956-053X
1-33
Turner, David
39dc4dc8-88b4-4950-8bbd-c647ff110ec9
Beaven, Richard
5893d749-f03c-4c55-b9c9-e90f00a32b57
Woodman, Nicholas
9870f75a-6d12-4815-84b8-6610e657a6ad
Turner, David
39dc4dc8-88b4-4950-8bbd-c647ff110ec9
Beaven, Richard
5893d749-f03c-4c55-b9c9-e90f00a32b57
Woodman, Nicholas
9870f75a-6d12-4815-84b8-6610e657a6ad

Turner, David, Beaven, Richard and Woodman, Nicholas (2016) Evaluating landfill aftercare strategies: a life cycle assessment approach. Waste Management, 1-33. (doi:10.1016/j.wasman.2016.12.005).

Record type: Article

Abstract

This study investigates the potential impacts caused by the loss of active environmental control measures during the aftercare period of landfill management. A combined mechanistic solute flow model and life cycle assessment (LCA) approach was used to evaluate the potential impacts of leachate emissions over a 10,000 year time horizon. A continuum of control loss possibilities occurring at different times and for different durations were investigated for four different basic aftercare scenarios, including a typical aftercare scenario involving a low permeability cap and three accelerated aftercare scenarios involving higher initial infiltration rates. Assuming a ‘best case’ where control is never lost, the largest potential impacts resulted from the typical aftercare scenario. The maximum difference between potential impacts from the ‘best case’ and the ‘worst case’, where control fails at the earliest possible point and is never reinstated, was only a fourfold increase. This highlights potential deficiencies in standard life cycle impact assessment practice, which are discussed. Nevertheless, the results show how the influence of active control loss on the potential impacts of landfilling varies considerably depending on the aftercare strategy used and highlight the importance that leachate treatment efficiencies have upon impacts

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Turner et al 2016 Green open access version Evaluating landfill aftercare strategies A life cycle assessment approach.pdf - Accepted Manuscript
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Accepted/In Press date: 4 December 2016
Published date: 15 December 2016
Organisations: Infrastructure Group

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 401426
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/401426
ISSN: 0956-053X
PURE UUID: 786a3b05-f5cf-4c58-bb43-92f542405f2a
ORCID for Richard Beaven: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-1387-8299
ORCID for Nicholas Woodman: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-5571-0451

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 13 Oct 2016 13:16
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 05:58

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Contributors

Author: David Turner
Author: Richard Beaven ORCID iD

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