Supporting environmentally sound decisions for waste management : a technical guide to Life Cycle Thinking (LCT) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for waste experts and LCA practitioners

The amount of waste generated in Europe and, beyond, by our production and consumption patterns is significant. A proper waste management is essential in order to reduce detrimental environmental impacts. For the European Union, the general principles of good waste management are outlined in the Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC). This directive establishes a five-step legally binding hierarchy of waste management, starting with the preferred option of waste prevention, followed by preparing waste for re-use, recycling and other recovery, with disposal (such as landfill) as the last resort. The European Commission (EC) encourages the use of Life Cycle Thinking (LCT) to complement the waste hierarchy for a more environmentally sound and factual support to decision-making in waste management. This has led to the development of a set of guidelines, tailored to the needs of different target audiences, which help apply LCT and quantitative tools such as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to waste management systems and strategies. This guide focuses on the most relevant technical aspects that need to be considered when applying Life Cycle Thinking (LCT) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to the waste management sector. Main focus is put on the environmental pillar of sustainability. It builds on the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14040 and 14044 standards for LCA and the International Reference Life Cycle Data System (ILCD) Handbook and, for LCA in waste management, on the ISO 14040 and 14040 and ILCD Handbook provisions. It is aimed at waste managers, technicians and LCA practitioners, but also provides policy makers with insights and hints on what they need to consider when using LCT and LCA to support policy making in the waste management context.