Assessment and modelling of greenhouse gas emissions from waste collection vehicles powered by different fuel types

Abstract

Vehicles emit greenhouse gas (GHG) and air pollutants during the collection of municipal solid waste. In this study, GHG emissions and global warming factors (GWFs) from waste collection vehicles were calculated for four different fuel types (diesel, gasoline, compressed natural gas and electricity) in Kocaeli, Turkey. Results showed that GHG emissions were determined by using a model and manual calculations as 10,853 tons CO2-eq and 10,265 tons CO2-eq, respectively. If diesel is used, the GWF values for the model and manual calculations were determined as 18 kg CO2-eq ton(-1) and 17 kg CO2-eq ton(-1), respectively. Furthermore, when gasoline, CNG, and electricity were used, GWFs were calculated as 13.3 kg CO2-eq ton(-1), 9.2 kg CO2-eq ton(-1) and 2.6 kg CO2-eq ton(-1), respectively. This study demonstrated that alternative fuels, especially electricity, have a great potential to reduce GHG emissions. In addition, opening up new transfer stations or a new landfill site can be considered as important steps in reducing GHG emissions.