Final waste is material input to a final disposal activity. This represents the end point in the material flow where a substance or object is permanently removed from the economic system through disposal rather than being recovered, recycled, or transformed into another useful product.
In the context of Life Cycle Assessment, understanding final waste is crucial for properly accounting for the environmental burdens associated with disposal processes. Whilst ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 do not provide a specific definition for "final waste" as a distinct term, the concept aligns with the standards' treatment of waste flows and disposal processes within product systems.
A final disposal activity, by definition, does not produce any other Product outputs beyond the service of disposing of the waste material itself. This distinguishes it from intermediate treatment activities, which may process waste materials and generate secondary products or Materials for treatment that require further handling. Examples of final disposal activities include landfilling, incineration without energy recovery, and permanent storage of hazardous materials.
The classification of a material as final waste indicates that it has reached the terminus of its material lifecycle. Unlike By-products or recyclable materials that can displace Determining products from other activities, final waste cannot provide further economic value or functional substitution. This terminal status has important implications for system boundary definition and allocation procedures in consequential LCA modelling.
It is worth noting that the distinction between waste categories can have varying legal and regulatory implications across jurisdictions, but from an LCA modelling perspective, the critical factor is understanding the material's role in the system and the environmental consequences of its disposal pathway.
