Adopting sustainable waste management practices in selected household wastes with green energy approach via life cycle assessment

Over decades, humankind has become more responsible for depletion of Natural Resources (NR) and disturbing the ecological balance of Earth's systems due to rising population and excess amount of industrialization practices. The demand for NR has increased, which leads to call for action on Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) patterns globally. In this manner, sustainability and green growth practices in daily short-term and long-term consumer goods as well as sustainable end-of-life practices should be promoted. In this study, food, paper, packaging; and household e-waste (electrical and electronic equipment) are analyzed with the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology. Sustainable Waste Management (WM) is targeted; mainly focusing on efficiency in recycling rates as proposed in European Union Waste Framework Directive (EU WFD), aiming transition to greener economy. Environmental impacts arising from recycling these wastes are analyzed by conducting LCA studies for a typical family's daily household activities. Different recycling rates of waste products are presented in the light of Turkey's National Energy Plan, and Turkey's Decarbonization Roadmap within the EU Circular Economy Action Plan perspective. The proposed strategies are integrated into the study by comparing the country's electricity generation profile in 2020 with the proposed electricity generation shares of 2030, 2035 and 2050 scenarios as well as EU's recycling rate targets. The results which also consider increased public awareness on recycling clearly revealed that, by developing sustainable public behaviour, in addition to increased recycling efficiency, the increased share of using renewable energy in the recycling equipment significantly reduces the studied environmental impacts.