Latakia is a Syrian city that generates approximately 800 tons per day of municipal solid
waste MSW, and the final disposal of MSW is in Al-Bassa open dump with no biogas
capturing or leachate collection systems. Thus, a life cycle assessment appro
ach LCA was
used to determine the optimal strategy of municipal solid waste management. to find the
most eco-friendly scenario, first, the composition study of MSW was conducted in Latakia.
The results of first step are to be utilized as a reliable data source in establishing a
complete picture of the environmental performances of municipal solid waste management
systems with a life cycle perspective. The functional unit of the study was selected as one
ton of MSW generated in Latakia. System boundaries included treatment and disposal of
MSW using different scenarios: the open dump of waste, sanitary landfilling with gas
recovery, and a material recovery facility MRF combined with a sanitary landfill and gas
recovery. Data on the process was gathered from a field study conducted in Latakia, and
from SimaPro 8.3.0 literature and libraries. The data was evaluated with IMPACT 2002+
methodology and the assessed environmental impact categories were climate change,
human health, ecosystem quality, and resources. According to the results, while open
dumping has been confirmed as the worst waste final disposal method, landfilling with gas
recovery and material recovery facility showed better performance and is considered as a
solution towards improved sustainability to overcome the existing waste management
problem.
