Life-cycle assessment/climate footprint of the Cröbern bio-mechanical waste treatment plant

The Westsächsische Entsorgungs- und Verwertungsgesellschaft mbH (WEV) plans to further develop the MBWT Cröbern with the aim of increasing its contribution to climate protection in the context of the energy transition. One of the documents used for this purpose is the "Potential Study for Determining Measures to Further Reduce Climate Gas Emissions from Residual Waste Treatment at the Cröbern MBWT Plant" of 28 October 2020, which was prepared by u.e.c.-Berlin in cooperation with the Öko-Institut. The report identifies options for the further development of MBWT, some of which are to be tested and concretised in a further step. In order to be able to evaluate the identified or estimated potentials of planned and/or tested measures on a sound basis from the outset, the ecological performance of MBWT should be precisely balanced with the life cycle assessment offered. As far as possible, a meaningful life cycle assessment should be based on concrete data from the MBWT plant in Cröbern, the waste streams treated there and the plants in which processed waste fractions from the MBWT plant are further treated. In order to be able to evaluate planned changes quickly and easily, at least roughly, a database of CO2 emission factors for different future services, such as the separation of different recyclable materials for recycling or high-quality substitute fuels for flexible energy recovery, should also be provided in addition to the actual life cycle assessment.