Waste management is becoming an increasingly important factor in the context of climate change, particularly due to methane emissions from landfills, which have a significantly stronger warming effect than carbon dioxide. The City of Prnjavor, facing challenges related to the growth of municipal waste and limited infrastructure, represents a representative example of a local community in transition toward a more sustainable waste management system. The aim of this research is to assess greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the waste sector and identify optimal strategies for their reduction.
The methodology is based on the IPCC Tier 1 approach for GHG emission estimation, applied to three waste management scenarios: full landfilling, partial recycling, and a combination of recycling and composting. The analysis includes emissions from waste collection, transport, and final treatment, as well as avoided emissions resulting from the processing of recyclable and biodegradable fractions.
Results show that the scenario combining recycling and composting can reduce total GHG emissions by 37% compared to the baseline scenario.
The conclusions suggest that transitioning to selective waste collection and treatment, along with strengthening institutional capacities, has the potential to enable efficient emission reductions and improve the waste management system, without the need for major infrastructure investments.
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