The ‘Transforming Waste into a Climate Service’ (TWICS) project evaluates, through lifecycle assessment (LCA), whether EfW with CCS or wate derived SAF provides greater direct climate benefits. To rigorously test this, the project developed a framework based on consequential LCA and system exansion. Consequential LCA is particularly suited to analysing complex systems where incumbent production routes are displaced, as it accounts for the implications of avoided emissions and removes the allocation challenges inherent in attributional LCA. The project integrates this methodology with prior work on EfW with CCS and waste-derived SAFs, employing the GREET Model and additional methodological aspects aligned with Europe’s RED II methodology.
Key outputs of the framework include both a broadly applicable methodology to guide the efficacious and climate beneficial allocation of municipal solid waste, and a proof-of-concept study comparing the environmental performance of waste utilisation within EfW and SAF production. Reported metrics include avoided emissions, net emissions, and carbon dioxide removal. By delivering quantified LCA results for each of these pathways the project provides critical evidence and tools for determining, within the bounds of examined case studies, the optimal use of municipal solid waste in achieving net-zero emissions. The findings offer policymakers and industry stakeholders valuable insights into the role of EfW with CCS and waste-derived SAF in a sustainable waste hierarchy, where resource efficiency and climate benefits are maximised.
The implications of this work extend beyond immediate policy recommendations. The framework serves as a foundation for broader analyses of waste-derived climate strategies. It offers a comprehensive approach to the allocation of waste in the context of net-zero goals, balancing principles of waste reduction, reuse, and recycling with the need for effective carbon dioxide removal. This work addresses a critical unresolved question: should biogenic carbon in residual waste prioritise the waste hierarchy, or focus on maximising carbon reduction and removal?