Environmental impact of solid waste treatment methods in Korea

The environmental impact of various solid waste treatment methods being used in Korea was assessed to provide useful information for decision making in solid waste management strategy. Among the treatment methods considered, the incineration method and the anaerobic digestion method are the most environmentally friendly, while the landfill method has the highest environmental impact. Regarding the life cycle of the treatment methods, the environmental impact of the main treatment stage is the largest, contributing 46-94% of the total impact, depending on the treatment method. The environmental impact due to wastewater treatment was 6.2, 0.2, 4.1, and 9.0% for landfilling, incineration, composting, and anaerobic digestion, respectively. Among the environmental impact categories considered, global warming, eutrophication, and acidification are the key contributors to environmental impact, with a range of 53 to 91% of the total environmental impact depending on the selected treatment method. Of these key contributors, global warming has the largest contribution. Other contributors to environmental impact, such as photochemical oxidant creation, abiotic resource depletion, and ozone depletion, contribute little to the total environmental impact. These results make it possible to construct an environmental data set and examine the environmental impact of the life cycle of various waste treatment methods to support decision making in solid waste management strategy.