Application of LCA for sustainable green cover management using waste derived materials

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

BACKGROUND

At present, the landscaping industry has little option but to source much of its green cover materials from arable land, i.e. field top soil. By demonstrating the effectiveness of an environmentally sustainable and economically viable alternative source of green cover materials, this project will seek to significantly reduce negative environmental impacts. The project will contribute to the implementation of EU policy and legislation on waste, in particular the Landfill Directive, as well as legislation on waste treatment (e.g. Regulation No. 1774/2002 laying down health rules concerning animal by-products not intended for human consumption) and the production of growth media (e.g. Regulation No. 2003/2003 Relating to Fertilisers).

OBJECTIVES

1) To demonstrate the many possibilities to use waste-derived materials in green cover (particularly in amenity lawn areas) construction and management; 2) To conduct a lifecyle assessment (LCA) of the 20 demonstration sites. The LCA results are expected to show that the increased use of recycled materials in landscaping will reduce negative environmental impacts (fewer green house gas emissions, lower energy input, etc.); 3) To provide a cost/benefit analysis of the waste-derived green cover production versus conventional processes; and 4) To demonstrate the use of competitive, waste-derived green surface materials for urban landscaping.

Expected results: The project is expected to achieve the following results:

Documented procedures for the establishment and management of three types of amenity lawn areas and the identification of steps at which the recycled products can be used in green cover management;

A successful demonstration of the use of recycled materials, thereby increasing the use of existing recycled materials by lowering barriers to their use;

A 20% increase in the share of recycled materials used in landscaping and a reduction in the area of sites without landscaping because of the availability of inexpensive new recycled growing media products;

An LCA-based tool for assessing the environmental impact of waste-derived substrates/green cover surfaces, including software and a database of environmental impacts of materials used in green cover management; and

A cost-benefit assessment of the use of waste-derived green surfaces.