Economic and Environmental Cost Analysis of Incineration and Recovery Alternatives for Flammable Industrial Waste: The Case of South Korea

As the generation of industrial wastes increases, waste treatment is steadily becoming a serious economic and environmental issue. Existing waste has mainly been treated by landfilling after incineration. A shortage of landfill sites necessitates waste management alternatives other than traditional incineration and landfill. This paper focuses on a cost-benefit analysis that evaluates the economic and environmental performances of five treatment strategies for flammable industrial wastes: incineration, refuse plastic fuel (RPF) boiler, RPF cement furnace, cement furnace after shredding of wastes, and paper incineration after shredding of wastes. For such purposes, our model considered the entire process of each waste treatment, which involves collection, transportation, treatment, recovery, and the disposal of flammable industrial wastes that pose risks to their surroundings. Case studies of each treatment processes are reviewed, and a cost-benefit analysis is performed to evaluate and identify the selection of treatment and disposal facilities, along with an allocation of flammable industrial wastes and waste residues from generators to treatment and disposal facilities and transportation routes, in order to achieve the minimum economic and environmental costs.