Allocation approaches to deal with the cascading use of resources along a water treatment chain : the case of the resource footprint of sewage sludge valorisation in The Netherlands

The paradigm shift from a linear to a circular economy has consequences on the way the sustainability of products and waste production/processing needs to be assessed. Some methodological approaches commonly used today to conduct Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of such products become questionable when it comes to comparing (partially) recycled products with virgin material-based products. If waste streams are considered as a resource and not as a waste, it implies that part of the upstream environmental burdens should be allocated to the downstream products to allow a fair comparison with the equ... Mehr ...