Sustainability analysis through life cycle assessment: over the only environmental impacts. Application at the case study: integrated waste management system in Baalbek (Lebanon)

Sustainable development has as primary aim to improve environmental, economic and social conditions, both at local territorial and global level. The sustainability represents a complex concept often confused with the environmental impact reduction. A complete sustainability investigation depends on the environmental impacts and also on its economic and social consequences, both in absolute and relative terms. The research shows as the method of life cycle assessment (LCA) can be used to do a complete sustainability analysis of a case study. Specifically the study has the objective to evaluate, through the LCA approach, the environmental impacts of an integrated waste management plant projected in Lebanon and also to estimate economic and social effects related to this plant. The plant was dimensioned to serve the population of Union of Commons of Baalbek. It consists of a sorting and composting plants, an anaerobic digester plant and a sanitary landfill located in the Caza of Baalbek. The environmental analysis was conducted using the SimaPro 8.2 software and the IMPACT 2002+ evaluation method. The inventory analysis has been conducted using primary and secondary data whenever available. The remaining data have been obtained from the EcoInvent database v.2 - v.3. In the analysis have been included (i) the municipal solid waste collection, (ii) the waste separation (with different sorting process technologies to divide recyclable items, compostable material and not-differentiated inert waste) (iii) the pretreatment of recyclable material, (iv) anaerobic digestion of organic material, (v) composting of the remainder organic material and of the anaerobic digestion product, (vi) disposal in a landfill of not recyclable material, (vii) the use of anaerobic digestion biogas to produce electricity by cogeneration. An economic quantification, differentiating incoming, investments and operation costs of the plant has been done. Finally, the social effects with an estimation of benefits deriving from the introduction of a new waste management system in a developing country have been considered. Three specific indicators to demonstrate (i) the occupation (jobs related to the waste management system), (ii) the function of the system (the management of municipal solid waste) and (iii) the management mode choice (that is representative of the combination introduced by the system of alternative waste treatment) have been used.