Life cycle assessment of food waste composting management

Abstract

The objective of the review is to explore the various operational conditions and conceptual approaches regarding the life cycle assessment (LCA) of the different composting technologies through the analysis of previous research journals and reports relating to food waste (FW). Many types of research concentrate on waste generation and proportions analysis of certain composting techniques, however less LCA on decision-making approaches for FW composting through aerobic or anaerobic management, or not a mixture of these has been conducted. Therefore, gaps in the availability of literature and decision-making frameworks indicate that systematic LCA approaches to different composting systems are needed as a biological technology for the treatment of organic waste. The environmental effect should also be evaluated in terms of the input feedstock and operating modes to produce the basis with reduced variations between the studies. Furthermore, particular methodological issues exist in the investigation of LCA composting systems, such as the concept of a functional unit, the database used, the variation of life cycle impact assessment methodologies, and the coverage of the impacts. Therefore, the review and its analyses offer valuable context for explaining the operational dimensions of LCA to prevent misconceptions due to the varying complexity of composting LCA's within analysis by offering methodological guidelines for alleviating the related uncertainties.