Environmental optimization of waste management systems by integrating LCA and linear programming: a simulation

LCA can be used to assess the environmental performance of an integrated waste management system or to identify the most environmentally-sound waste management scenario through a comparative analysis of different scenarios. In the planning phase, we can define scenarios assuming the rate of each waste fraction that will be conveyed to each of the various treatment/disposal options available. In order to avoid making such assumptions, linear programming (LP) models integrated to LCA may allow us to identify an optimum scenario of integrated waste management, from the environmental point of view, among all those theoretically available. We developed an LP model and a multi-objective LP (MLP) model that aim to identify the optimal allocation of waste to minimize environmental impacts In this study the developed models were tested through a simulation based on realistic data to verify its validity.