2012 Awards for Excellence

Citation

(2013), "2012 Awards for Excellence", Management of Environmental Quality, Vol. 24 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/meq.2013.08324aaa.015

2012 Awards for Excellence

2012 Awards for Excellence

Article Type: 2012 Awards for Excellence From: Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal, Volume 24, Issue 1.

The following article was selected for this year's Outstanding Paper Award for Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal

“Environmental assessment and sustainable management options of leachate and landfill gas treatment in Estonian municipal waste landfills”

Viktoria VoronovaInstitute of Environmental Engineering, Tallinn University of Technology, Tallinn, Estonia

Harri MooraStockholm Environment Institute, Tallinn Office, Tallinn, Estonia

Enn LoiguInstitute of Environmental Engineering, Tallinn University of Technology, Tallinn, Estonia

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to compare various landfill gas (LFG) and leachate treatment technologies in a life-cycle perspective.Design/methodology/approach – Since a landfill causes emissions for a very long-time period, life-cycle-based environmental assessment was carried out to compare different technological options for sustainable leachate treatment and LFG collection and utilization. WAMPS, the life-cycle assessment (LCA) model for waste management planning, was used for the environmental assessment of selected leachate and LFG treatment technologies.Findings – Results of both direct measurements in the studied landfills and LCA support the fact that leachate treatment with reverse osmosis has the best environmental performance compared to aerobic-activated sludge treatment. Recently, the collection efficiency of LFG in the studied landfills is relatively low. In order to improve the overall environmental performance of LFG management the gas collection rate should be improved. LFG utilisation for energy recovery is an essential part of the system. The results of the study show that the avoided impacts of energy recovery can be even greater than direct impacts of greenhouse gas emissions from landfills. Therefore, measures which combine LFG collection with energy generation should be preferred to treatment in flare.Research limitations/implications – It should be noted that the results of this study do not express the total environmental impacts of the entire landfill system, but only the eutrophicating impacts and global warming related to the studied leachate and LFG management options. Therefore, it is recommended that further LCAs investigate also other relevant impact categories.Practical implications – The results of LCA modelling show that it is important to ensure the highest collection and treatment efficiency of leachate and LFG, since poor capture compromises the overall environmental performance of a landfill.Originality/value – The paper provides a site-specific data on sustainable leachate and LFG management in selected Estonian conventional municipal solid waste landfills. As such, the paper contributes to the development of the regional reference input data for LCA in waste management.

Keywords: ToniaLandfill gas, Leachate, Life cycle assessment, Municipal solid waste, Pollutant gases, Sustainable landfilling, Waste management

www.emeraldinsight.com/10.1108/14777831111170876

This article originally appeared in Volume 22 Number 6, 2011, pp. 787-802, Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal

The following articles were selected for this year's Highly Commended Award

“A process directed towards sustainable business operations and a model for improving the GWP-footprint (CO_2e) on Earth”

Göran Svensson and Beverly Wagner

This article originally appeared in Volume 22 Number 4, 2011, Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal

“Industrial hazardous waste in the framework of EU and international legislation”

Vassilis J. Inglezakis and Antonis Zorpas

This article originally appeared in Volume 22 Number 5, 2011, Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal

“Investigating the determinants of recycling behaviour in Malta”

Frank H. Bezzina and Stephen Dimech

This article originally appeared in Volume 22 Number 4, 2011, Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal

Outstanding Reviewer

Professor Joost PlatjeUniversity of Opole, Poland