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July 4th, 2013:

The Hong Kong Institute of Education

https://www.ied.edu.hk/major_project/project.php?id=63

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Cost (LCC) Analysis of Food Waste Management Options in the Perspective of Global Warming in Hong Kong

This research is the first attempt in Hong Kong to outline environmental impacts, costs and benefits of four different management options for food waste by a combination of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Cost (LCC) analysis. Study results will provide scientific evidence to support the decision-making of the low-carbon food waste management system in the future in Hong Kong and China. (Early Career Scheme 2012/2013)

Project Leader : Dr DENG, Wenjing (Department of Science and Environmental Studies)

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Cost (LCC) Analysis of Food Waste Management Options in the Perspective of Global Warming in Hong Kong

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a tool for evaluating the environmental effects of a product, or an activity throughout its life cycle, which is known as a ‘from cradle to grave’ analysis, while Life Cycle Costing (LCC) measures economic impacts over the life cycle. The concept of LCA evolved in the 1960s and there have been several efforts to develop LCA methodology since the 1970s. LCA has received much attention from individuals in environmental science fields since the 1990s. LCA study can identify an option which is environmentally preferable as well as the key environmental issue. The methodology of LCA has recently been proven to be suited for the environmental impact assessment of municipal solid waste (MSW) systems. Many studies have been conducted on life cycle impact assessments of various MSW treatment technologies or systems at various levels and regions. Recently, LCA has also been applied in assessing different waste management systems in Tianjin, Hangzhou, and Beijing of China. However, seldom have LCA or LCC studies focused on food waste management systems, neither has research been done in Hong Kong. The huge population density and increasing per capita income have resulted in the enormous generation of food waste, which poses a serious threat to the environmental quality and human health in Hong Kong, such as results in large amounts of greenhouse gases (GHGs) emission. The government needs to adopt a life cycle perspective into the decision-making framework, to support management’s decision regarding the environmental impacts and costs of food waste management. In this study, the environmental impacts and costs associated with four food waste management options in Hong Kong, landfilling, incineration, anaerobic digestion (AD) and food waste mechanical composter system will be assessed in the perspective of global warming which has become the most serious global environmental problem. This research is the first attempt in Hong Kong to outline environmental impacts, costs and benefits of four different management options for food waste by a combination of LCA and LCC analysis. Study results will provide scientific evidence to support the decision-making of the low-carbon food waste management system in the future in Hong Kong and China.