A comparative life cycle assessment of kitchen garbage utilization approaches in China

PurposeThere are many utilization approaches to deal with kitchen garbage in China; all kinds of utilization approaches have their advantages and disadvantages. The improper disposal of kitchen garbage not only leads to the environment pollution, but also results in economic losses. Now how to pick out the right utilization method to treat kitchen garbage is very important.MethodsThe life cycle assessment (LCA) of four kitchen garbage utilization approaches includes (1) anaerobic fermentation, (2) aerobic composting, (3) lactic acid fermentation, and (4) production of biological feed, and has been performed to compare their environmental impact.ResultsThe findings indicate that aerobic composting has the most significant environmental impact, while lactic acid fermentation has the least. Specifically, the environmental impact of lactic acid fermentation is only 63.78% of that associated with aerobic composting. The overall impact of biological feed is only greater than that of lactic acid fermentation, while having the least impact on climate warming. The impact of biological feed on climate change is reduced by 47.62% compared to aerobic composting. The best score for the impact on climate warming (1.12 mPt) is observed in the biological feed approach, mainly ascribing to the least carbon dioxide emitted by this approach.ConclusionsThe research findings underline the significance of efficient and sustainable kitchen garbage utilization approaches. Lactic acid fermentation is identified as an effective method for reducing environmental impact.