Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Landfilling and In-Vessel Composting for Food Waste Treatment in Saudi Arabia: Environmental Trade-Offs and Climate Implications
Keywords:
Circular economy, Composting, Food waste management, Greenhouse gas emissions, Life cycle assessment, Saudi ArabiaAbstract
Food waste management is an important environmental challenge in Saudi Arabia, where landfill disposal remains common and organic-waste diversion is central to circular-economy objectives. This study aimed to quantify and compare the environmental impacts of landfill disposal and in-vessel composting of catering-facility food waste and to identify the dominant impact drivers under Saudi operating conditions. A gate-to-grave life cycle assessment (LCA) was performed in openLCA using a 1-metric-tonne functional unit, Agribalyse background data, the CML impact-assessment method, and a deterministic ±10% electricity-demand sensitivity test. The system included collection and handling, transport, treatment, and either landfill disposal or compost production and soil application; upstream food production and unquantified non-organic co-waste were excluded. Composting reduced global warming potential by 87.48% (13,069.43 to 1,636.20 kg CO₂ eq per functional unit), freshwater aquatic ecotoxicity by 77.96%, marine aquatic ecotoxicity by 79.05%, acidification by 84.89%, and eutrophication by 80.57%. Landfill methane dominated the landfill scenario, whereas electricity use was the principal operational hotspot for composting. The direction of these results is consistent with broader LCA evidence that treatment rankings depend strongly on methane management, energy inputs, and system assumptions, while this study provides a facility-scale Saudi application. The findings support source segregation and organic-waste diversion, with lower-carbon electricity, compost-quality control, and direct emission measurement identified as priorities for implementation and future refinement.
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