Life cycle assessment (LCA) has been used in waste management for the last two decades and hundreds of journal papers have been published. The use of LCA in waste management has provided a much-improved holistic view of waste management including waste flows and potential environmental impacts. Although much knowledge has been obtained from LCA studies, there is still a need to use LCA models in integrated waste management. This paper describes six areas where LCA is expected to play a role in waste management in the future: 1) understanding an existing waste management system; 2) improving existing waste management systems; 3) comparing alternative technologies/ technology performance; 4) technology development/prospective technologies; 5) policy development/strategic development; and 6) reporting. Illustrative examples are provided for each application area.

在过去的二十年中，生命周期评估（LCA）已用于废物管理，并且已经发表了数百篇期刊论文。LCA在废物管理中的使用为废物管理（包括废物流和潜在的环境影响）提供了全面改进的整体视图。尽管已经从LCA研究中获得了很多知识，但是仍然需要在集成废物管理中使用LCA模型。本文描述了LCA有望在未来的废物管理中发挥作用的六个领域：1）了解现有的废物管理系统；2）改善现有的废物管理系统；3）比较替代技术/技术性能；4）技术开发/预期技术；5）政策制定/战略发展；和6）报告。