A life cycle based energy and greenhouse gas emission assessment of C&D waste and container glass recycling in the City of Cape Town

Abstract

Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references.The rate at which the world is consuming energy is growing, and with climate change an immediate concern (Stern, 2006), it is incumbent for the global society to find alternate ways of fuelling human activity. Along with greater energy use, global development is also generating ever-greater quantities of waste. Landfill space is becoming increasingly scarce and the assimilative capacity of Earth is reaching its limits. Society's current approach to the production, consumption, and disposal of goods is likely unsustainable. The goal of this research was to assess the difference in cumulative energy demand (CED) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for two waste management options: landfilling and recycling for the two materials of Construction and Demolition (C&D) rubble and container glass in the City of Cape Town (CCT) in order to determine which option has the lower climate impact