Life Cycle Assessments of Solid Waste Management Systems in African Countries: A Systematic Review

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a vital tool for assessing the environmental burden of solid waste. This study investigated the outcomes of selected studies that applied the LCA methodology in assessing the environmental impacts of solid waste management systems in Africa. Thirteen (۱۳) process-based LCA studies of solid waste management were analysed using the defined criteria from SCOPUS, Elsevier, and Google Scholar databases; three studies each were carried out in Mauritius and Nigeria; two studies each originated from Zimbabwe and South Africa; one study from Tanzania, Ghana, and Uganda, respectively. The parameters assessed for this study were goal and scope, functional unit, system boundary, impact assessment categories, and sensitivity analysis. The findings revealed that the majority of the studies employed similar waste management scenarios to determine the most environment-friendly, yet they differed considerably in some parameters. Climate change and global warming were the most assessed impact categories. Municipal solid waste (MSW) and plastic waste were the most important waste categories. MSW typically comprises paper, bottles, metal, plastics, glass, organics, and mixed waste proportions. The study also revealed that the lack of reliable data on solid waste was a significant challenge faced by African countries in LCA studies. The paper concluded that many of the studies especially in Nigeria do not include sensitivity analysis in their assessment which was crucial in interpreting results. Therefore, it is germane that more LCA research studies are conducted in African countries to generate relevant data on solid waste.

Keywords:

Recycling , Composting , Incineration , Landfilling , Nigeria , Zimbabwe , South Africa , Environmental Impact