Transitioning from open dumpsters to landfilling in Peru: Environmental benefits and challenges from a life-cycle perspective

Abstract

The Peruvian waste management sector is steadily transitioning from a mostly informal and underdeveloped system based on the use of open dumpsters to a landfill-based system. The environmental consequences of these policies must be evaluated with environmental management tools such as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Therefore, the main goal of the study is to analyze the life-cycle environmental performance of waste disposition in three different landfills located in three distinct geographical areas of Peru: i) the hyper-arid coast; ii) the Andean highlands; and, iii) the Amazon Rainforest. With this aim in mind, a comparative analysis is provided regarding the waste treatment process as compared to other landfill technologies (i.e., biogas combustion or energy recovery) and open dumpsters. The modelling of these systems was performed with the EASETECH waste LCA tool, including a sensitivity analysis in terms of waste composition and waste decay rates. Results show that landfill gas (LFG) treatment reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions considerably. However, these remain higher in the Amazon as compared to the Andean Highlands (+105%) and the hyper-arid coast (+17%). Most of the decomposition in the Amazon basin occurs within 5 years after disposition (80%) due to heat and humidity, whereas in the other regions values were below 55%. LFG treatment or recovery is necessary for these emissions to be lower than in open dumpsters. The implementation of these technologies would strengthen the country's action plan regarding the Paris Agreement in the waste sector. In other impact categories, the transitioning from dumpsters to landfills is most visible in the soil and water compartments.