Articles / Manufacturing Technology

LCA impacts of MSW and flexible plastics recycling

20 October 2025

Achieving circularity faces persistent challenges due to limited waste separation, collection infrastructure and recycling markets. This study presents a life cycle assessment of municipal solid waste management (MSW) in Mexico, comparing two scenarios: full co-processing of MSW as residue-derived fuel (RDF) in a kiln and conventional landfill disposal. Results show that increasing RDF co-processing consistently reduces environmental impacts across all categories, with significant improvements in climate change and fossil resource depletion. A complementary cradle-to-gate analysis evaluates flexible plastic fractions routed to co-processing or other means of recycling. by Andrés Perches Enríquez, Enrique de Hoyos Guajardo and Ana Yulissa Angulo Elizade, Cemex México, and Ana Yael Vanoye-García, ITESM, Mexico