Study no
The first study takes climate change, primary energy demand and water use into account. According to the final
results, incineration is the best option for climate change and energy demand. On the other hand, incineration is
the most environmentally burdening option regarding water use (due to the cooling needs). Recycling is the
worst option for climate change and second worst for energy demand. This can be (partially) explained by the
fact that recycling in this study is not given substantial credit, as the substituted process of paper production
occurs in Sweden using an average Swedish energy mix which has a significant contribution from CO 2 free energy
sources such as renewable and nuclear power. On the other hand, the substituted energy mix from energy
recovery in the incineration is calculated based on the Italian energy mix, which is much more carbon intensive.
Study no
The second study presents a breakdown of the paper fraction into three different materials. For two of the
materials (newspaper and mixed cardboard), recycling is the best option (and incineration the worst) for resource
depletion, while recycling is the worst alternative for corrugated board and landfill is the best. Corrugated board
is the worst type of paper for recycling, as the material’s fibres are already of poor quality. The extra loss of fibre
quality that occurs during recycling would lead to the recovery of low quality products. Recycling is preferable for
climate change and energy demand for all materials concerned. Landfill is the worst option in these two impact
categories.
Study no
Incineration dominates all impact categories except for water use, where incineration is the worst alternative.
Recycling is the best option when it comes to water consumption, whilst landfill takes last place for climate
change and energy demand. In this study, the results for each alternative do not diverge as greatly as in other
studies. This study is also performed in a French context, where a major part of the energy requirements is
covered by nuclear power.
Study no
This study scopes US systems of paper treatment and includes climate change and energy demand as impact
categories. It also investigates seven different types of paper waste, presenting more or less consistent results.
Recycling is proven to be the best route for all types and landfill is the worst (with two exceptions) regarding
climate change. A similar distribution is observed in the energy category: all cases agree that landfill is the worst
option. Recycling is the best for five types of paper.
Study no
The last study distinguishes paper and cardboard, but it only refers to climate change. The results are analogous
for both materials, as incineration with energy recovery is the preferable option, followed by recycling.