The example of long-term emissions in the life cycle assessment of waste disposal systems

Comprehensive Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies of waste disposal processes show that long-term emissions from landfills – i.e. after 100 years – significantly contribute to the overall environmental impact potential. Motivations for considering or discounting long-term impacts are subjective and cannot be based on natural science knowledge. The goal of environmental sustainability efforts suggests that LCA should always display all emissions and impacts regardless of their temporal occurrence, while discounting should only be applied in sensitivity analysis.