Water consumption
The total water use was only examined by studies no 1 and 3 and they both display a clear preference for
recycling, followed by landfill and incineration. In study 3, incineration and landfill share the same figure, while
the results for these alternatives in study 1 are also almost identical.
The following tables and graphs below illustrate this statement. Table 13 expresses the preference for recycling
for this impact category. Recycling performs better than landfill in all cases examined. Study n°1 claims that the
substituted virgin paper production reduces the water demand significantly as it is assumed to occur in Sweden.
In general, the process of recycling itself is much more demanding in water than the other alternatives, but still
less than the water demand for primary paper production.
On the other hand, Table 14 illustrates the fact that incineration ranks last for water consumption. The
operational requirements of an incineration plant include large amounts of water (mainly for cooling purposes)
which are responsible for the increased values of incineration versus other alternatives. However, the latest
technological developments (such as water recirculation internally in a modern incineration plant) might minimise
the water use and render incineration comparable to other treatment options.
Table 13 Relative difference between the impacts from the different end-of-life options vs. recycling for water consumption for paper. A positive
value means that recycling is preferable to the other end-of-life option. A negative value means that recycling causes more environmental burden
than the other end-of-life option.
N° case 1[PB] 3[PS] 3[EN]
Incineration with energy recovery 530% 30% 30%
Landfill 530% 30% 30%Recycling versus other
alternativesOnly studies n°1 and 3 include a comparison with recycling for thisindicator (^)
Table 14 Relative difference between the impacts from the different end-of-life options vs. incineration with energy recovery for water
consumption for paper. A positive value means that incineration with energy recovery is preferable to the other end-of-life option. A negative
value means that incineration with energy recovery causes more environmental burden than the other end-of-life option.
N° case 1[PB] 3[PS] 3[EN]
Recycling ‐80% ‐20% ‐20%
Landfill 0% 0% 0%
Incineration with energy
recovery versus other
alternatives
Only studies n°1 and 3 include a comparison with incinerarion with
energy recovery for this indicator