Life cycle inventory data for open burning of municipal waste and e-waste

Waste-specific estimated LCI data for open burning of municipal solid waste and WEEE in developing countries — built for LCA studies, emissions inventory development, environmental diagnostics, and advanced technical work where commercial datasets do not exist.

A high-risk, underrepresented waste practice — largely absent from commercial LCI databases

Open burning of municipal waste and waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE / e-waste) remains a critical waste-management reality across many developing countries. The practice is almost entirely missing from commercial LCI databases, creating a serious data gap for researchers, consultants, governments, and environmental analysts.

DEISO supplies waste-specific estimated LCI data for open burning scenarios using a dedicated estimation model built to quantify pollutant releases from poorly controlled combustion in open sites without flue-gas cleaning.

Where realistic open-burning inventory data changes the answer

What DEISO delivers

• Waste-specific estimated LCI data for open burning of municipal waste and e-waste
• Emissions inventory outputs prepared for LCA and emissions analysis
• Functional-unit-based results using 1 kg of waste input
• Support for single waste streams or mixed waste scenarios
• Technical documentation in Microsoft Excel and report format

Emission coverage

The model estimates emissions generated when waste is openly burned without combustion gas cleaning. Emissions to the atmosphere are explicitly considered, including:

• Total particulate mass
• PM > 10
• PM 2.5–10
• PM < 2.5
• Heavy metals and other relevant components
• Continuous process-specific CO and CH₄ emissions
• Carbon dioxide corrected for the carbon content of CO and CH₄

For particulate emissions, oxide formation and elemental transformations are incorporated to improve technical realism and inventory completeness.

Waste-specific modeling, not generic

Open burning emissions are strongly influenced by the composition of the waste itself. For this reason, DEISO's service is waste-specific rather than generic.

Recyclable material recovery and residue adjustment

Open burning is sometimes used to isolate recyclable materials from composite waste, particularly copper wires and printed wiring boards. To improve inventory realism, DEISO can account for recovery rates of specific metals:

• Iron
• Aluminum
• Copper

Recycled fractions can be subtracted before determining releases to land. Recycling-rate assumptions may be based on client data, government publications, technical reports, or DEISO-led parameter research where available.

This is particularly important when modeling residue composition, land releases, and realistic waste-handling behavior after burning.

Process parameters and site-specific inputs

The model includes parameters that characterize the open combustion process itself. Many of these are associated more with the burning site than with the waste type alone:

• Site condition and open-combustion status
• Choice of receiving soil compartment
• Industrial soil or agricultural soil release assumptions
• Waste composition and recyclable metal fractions
• Location-specific operational conditions

Agricultural soil release scenarios can also be estimated where relevant — a decision that can materially change human-health-oriented impact assessment results.

Multi-site and multi-region support

DEISO can compile and manage different parameter sets for different sites, countries, or records, supporting:

• Multiple open burning sites across different regions
• Country-level or city-level comparative inventories
• Scenario analysis based on site condition changes
• Customized data supply for international projects and studies

Climate-sensitive and context-relevant estimation

Climatic conditions are factored into estimation — important for local relevance of the resulting inventory.

This service is suited to developing-country applications where local conditions materially affect burning behavior and emissions outcomes.

Client input parameters

Clients typically provide the input parameters required for estimation. In many cases these are relatively simple, and can often be obtained from:

• Municipalities and local waste authorities
• Waste management engineers and technical experts
• Government websites and official data sources
• Literature and technical publications
• National reports and engineering records

Based on project scope, DEISO uses these inputs to estimate a complete emissions inventory for open burning of municipal waste, e-waste, or both.

Parameter research by DEISO

If required site or process parameters are not available on the client side, DEISO can perform data investigation and parameter collection as an additional service.

DEISO investigates the target city or country, reviews available technical sources, and develops the parameter set needed for estimation — scoped to data accessibility and typically delivered for an additional fee.

Typical outputs

• Estimated LCI inventory in Microsoft Excel format
• Supporting technical report and documentation
• Waste-specific emissions inventory outputs
• Structured results ready for downstream LCA modeling and interpretation

Intended users

• LCA practitioners and environmental consultants
• Research institutions and academic teams
• Municipalities and public-sector waste authorities
• International development and environmental projects
• Organizations requiring specialized emissions data for open burning practices

Closing one of the hardest gaps in developing-country waste LCI

This is a high-specialization technical data service for projects where no credible off-the-shelf dataset exists. DEISO closes one of the most difficult waste-LCI gaps in developing-country modeling: open burning of municipal waste and e-waste under uncontrolled conditions.

The result is stronger study defensibility, more realistic inventories, and better decision support for complex waste and environmental assessments.