Life Cycle Approaches to Waste Management

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a tool that provides a more robust method of evaluating various choices in our world. The assessment provides data on the “cost” for products and services in environmental impacts. Whether we should compost, anaerobically digest, landfill, combust or gasify our waste with energy recovery are essential questions that need to be addressed in both the right context (urban versus rural) and on various spatial scales (e.g., local versus regional level). Also, these choices and decisions are approached quite differently for the developed and developing world. Dr. Jambeck continues to research and examine the environmental impacts from the waste management choices societies make throughout the world.

Related Past Projects:

Life-cycle Assessment of Construction and Demolition Debris Wood Waste Management in NH, Construction Materials Recycling Association Issues and Education Fund, 2007, $21,000