3.2 Paper and cardboard
3.2.1 Presentation
The paper fraction is among the most important materials in Municipal Sold Waste (MSW) in terms of quantity,
comprising approximately 20-25% of municipal waste generated in Europe (the UK does not report generation
composition for municipal solid waste). However, paper waste is quite a diverse fraction as it consists of many
materials, from cardboard to kitchen and bathroom towels. Each sub-material possesses different characteristics.
Properties such as the heating value and the quality of the fibres are of specific importance for waste
management as they can influence the LCA results greatly. The differences are greater between the two main
types: paper and cardboard. In the presented studies, certain types of printed paper and cardboard are
examined.
Traditionally, paper has been a very well investigated fraction as its recycling does not require high-technology
applications. The recycling of paper, therefore, began quite early in the EU compared to other MSW fractions. The
possibilities for paper waste management cover a wide spectrum of technologies, but by far the most dominant
options are recycling, incineration with energy recovery and landfill. Consequently, the LCA studies that focus on
paper mostly examine those three alternatives. Moreover, since the technological developments in paper
treatment are slow, there has been little focus on paper LCAs recently. Few studies have been released since the
previous WRAP review. These are presented in Table 3. It can be noted that study no 2 is relatively old but, as it
is a quite a comprehensive study that was not covered in the previous report edition, it has been included here.
Table 3 Presentation of the selected studiesStudy
number
Title Main author Year
Geographical
scope
1
Environmental Assessment of Paper Waste
Management Options by Means of LCA
MethodologyArena 2004 Italy
2
Life cycle assessment of energy from solid
wasteFinnveden 2000 Sweden
3
Analyse du Cycle de Vie comparative de
différents modes d’adressage pour
magazines et imprimés (Comparative Life
Cycle Assessment of differents ways of mailing
magazines and printed matters)BIOIS 2007 France
4
Solid waste management and greenhouse
gases: A life cycle assessment of emissions
and sinksEPA 2006 USA
5
Klimaregnskap for avfallshåndtering
(Climate accounting for waste management)Raandal 2009 Norway
In addition to these five studies, an interesting Australian study dealing with composting entitled ‘Life Cycle
Inventory and Life Cycle Assessment for Window Composting Systems’ (ROU, 2007) was identified.
Unfortunately, it could not be analysed further as it does not include any comparison between different treatment
options.
Each LCA study has to clearly define the boundaries of the system under analysis, which implies certain
differences among the studies dependent on their goal and scope, as well as in their main assumptions, which
are affected by the particularities of each case. A general system diagram is presented in figure 3 showing the
usual processes involved in a paper waste management system: