【Special Issues: Examination of the Optimal State of a Recycling System and Technology】
Review of LCA Case Studies on Recycling
Rokuta Inaba
Bio-recycling Engineering（Kubota）Course, Division of Environment and Resources Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Hokkaido University, Assistant
（Kita 13, Nishi 8, Sapporo, 060-8628 Japan）


Abstract
The Working Group on Assessment of Recycling Technologies and Systems is the fourth working group of The Section on Recycling Systems and Technologies in The Japan Society of Waste Management Experts. The aim of this working group is to propose an integrated method for assessing the various environmental impacts of recycling, from the point of view of Life Cycle Assessment（LCA）and Risk Assessment. Comparative studies of LCA cases on the recycling of waste plastics and organic materials were conducted during Fiscal Year 2002. The studies showed that the most influential factors on LCA results were parameters, allocation methods, system boundary, consideration of toxic substances, regional characteristics, and methods to assess transportation. The studies also indicated that the requirements for sharing highly reliable data generally were to designate precise conditions of each analysis, to indicate exact values and sources of the quoted data, to assess toxic substances derived from wastes or recycled materials, to assess the quality of recycled materials and to analyze the balance of supply and demand of recycled materials.


Key words: LCA, recycling, waste plastics, organic wastes