Comparative assessment of the environmental profile of PLA and PET drinking water bottles from a life cycle perspective

Papong, Seksan; Malakul, Pomthong; Trungkavashirakun, Ruethai; Wenunun, Pechda; Chom-in, T.; Nithitanakul, Manit; Sarobol, Ed

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2013.09.030

Cited by 200 publications

(105 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Interest and demand for biodegradable and bio-based plastics have increased due to concerns about ecological conservation, finding material substitutes for fossil fuel based plastics and the importance of plastics to society (Álvarez-Chávez et al, 2012;Kishna, Niesten, Negro, & Hekkert, 2017;Papong et al, 2014). Optimistically, though they still make up only about 2% share of the polymer market, production capacity is expected to grow by more than 400% by 2018 (Aeschelmann & Carus, 2015) and they have become a real alternative on the market (Kishna et al, 2017).…”

Section: Scenariomentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Optimistically, though they still make up only about 2% share of the polymer market, production capacity is expected to grow by more than 400% by 2018 (Aeschelmann & Carus, 2015) and they have become a real alternative on the market (Kishna et al, 2017). Though still not fully sustainable due to impacts associated with their production (Álvarez-Chávez et al, 2012), they are a more ecologically friendly alternative to fossil-based plastics (Papong et al, 2014;Razza et al, 2015;Tsiropoulos et al, 2015). If Healthcare Hub could either influence or source their products from suppliers involved in cleaner production / greening practices, this would reduce the ecological impacts caused during the production and supply process of fossil-based plastics.…”

Section: Scenariomentioning

confidence: 99%

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How supply chain choices affect the life cycle impacts of medical products

Gabriel

Bortsie-Aryee

Apparicio-Farrell

et al. 2018

Journal of Cleaner Production

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The natural resource based view (NRBV) of organisations suggests that there are two main models used by businesses to achieve short-term sustainability outcomes. They are the product stewardship and pollution prevention models. Here is the case of a New York-based wholesaler of medical supplies. The business aims to develop a more environmentally sustainable supply chain for one of its products -an emesis basin. The emesis basin is currently only offered in high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic, which has negative effects on the natural environment. This study aimed to assess how the focus of the business' new business model might affect the overall life cycle impacts of this product. To achieve this, we compared the environmental impacts of the conventional product (Scenario 1-an HDPE basin) with equivalent products supplied via pollution prevention (Scenario 2 -a bioplastic basin) and product stewardship (Scenario 3 -green supply chain management and improvements) scenarios, as well as a combination scenario (Scenario 4). The results show that, in line with expectations, the pollution prevention option -switching to a bioplastic product -has the lowest environmental impacts. Unexpectedly though, the product stewardship option had a greater impact on the natural environment than the conventional HDPE, business-as-usual option. We suggest there may greater environmental gains to be obtained by focusing on one's core business, than by extending influence to the entire supply chain. KEYWORDSNatural resource-based view (NRBV); Life Cycle Assessment (LCA); sustainable supply chains; medical supply sector HIGHLIGHTS  Four scenarios comparing conventional and bio-plastics considered  Bioplastic product has lowest environmental impact (pollution prevention scenario)  Supply chain changes (product stewardship) have higher impact due to transport fuels  There are benefits to focusing on core business over supply chain integration  We support deeper inclusion of medical supply industry in sustainability discussion Word Count: 8,082ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT 2

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Section: Scenariomentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Scenariomentioning

confidence: 99%

How supply chain choices affect the life cycle impacts of medical products

Gabriel

Bortsie-Aryee

Apparicio-Farrell

et al. 2018

Journal of Cleaner Production

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Starch cannot be directly used in the bacterial fermentation process; it must be converted to sugar. The inventory data of the starch to sugar conversion process are from Papong et al [12].…”

Section: Life Cycle Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has been used as a tool to quantify environmental impacts associated with bioplastics throughout its life cycle. Some studies focused on 'cradle-to-factory gate' [10][11][12][13][14][15] LCA or from the feedstock cultivation and harvesting to bioplastic resin. However, some researchers studied the impacts from acquisition of feedstock to end-of-life (EOL) or 'cradle-to-grave' approach [14,16,17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Eco-Efficiency Assessment of Bioplastics Production Systems and End-of-Life Options

2018

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Bioplastics demand has been increased globally due to concerns regarding environmentally friendly consumption and production. Polylactic acid (PLA), polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), and polybutylene succinate (PBS) are promising bioplastics with bio-based feedstocks and property of biodegradability. They are produced by bacterial fermentation of sugars from carbohydrate sources. With flexibility in their properties, PLA, PHAs, and PBS can potentially substitute conventional plastics such as polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and polystyrene (PS). This study aims at evaluating the environmental and economic sustainability of bioplastics production together with end-of-life (EOL) options. The combination of environmental and economic indicators, eco-efficiency (E/E), was selected to investigate the performance of PLA, PHAs, and PBS from sugarcane and cassava in comparison with PP. The environmental impacts were determined using life cycle assessment. The product cost was used to represent the economic value. The E/E results showed that the environmental and economic sustainability could be enhanced with 100% mechanical recycling of all kinds of studied plastics. It is also important to highlight that mechanical recycling showed a better performance in terms of E/E than composting of bioplastics.

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“…as the reference unit of the analysis. In other cases, comparative analyses of packaging solutions have been performed without considering the environmental impact of food production, mainly by taking into account the impact of packaging materials (Kang et al, 2013;Papong et al, 2014) or adding the packaging processing (Toniolo et al, 2013;Cleary, 2013, Manfredi andVignali, 2015). Both these approaches can be misleading, especially for comparative analysis between different packaging solutions in which the packaging properties could affect the amount of waste throughout the supply chain.…”

Section: Accepted Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental assessment of antimicrobial coatings for packaged fresh milk

Manfredi

Fantin

Vignali

et al. 2015

Journal of Cleaner Production

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This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. Environmental assessment of antimicrobial coatings for packaged fresh milk AbstractAntimicrobial coatings are being increasingly used as a means to extend the shelf life of food products.This extension helps consumers cut down on the food waste generated at household level, while at the same time reducing the impact, which these products' life cycle has on the environment. The aim of this Life Cycle Assessment study is thus to assess the consequences on the environment arising from the application of an antimicrobial coating onto the packaging of a fresh milk product, while also taking into account the reduction in milk waste.The antimicrobial coating considered is a synthetic derivative of lauric acid. The application of the coating involves additional environmental impacts caused by all the inputs and outputs which occur during its life cycle. At the same time, however, the use of this coating allows to extend the fresh milk's shelf life with a consequent reduction in food waste.The data related to the production and application of the coating were provided by the packaging laboratory of the Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology (Valencia) and by manufacturing companies. The data related to food waste, milk processing, refrigeration transports, storage, and end of life of both product and packaging were obtained from previous studies, institutional reports and Ecoinvent database v2.2. The Midpoint Impact 2002 method was used to assess impacts.The results show how the reduction in milk waste achievable by using the coating generates higher environmental benefits than the impacts caused by the coating's life cycle due to milk saving.Furthermore this study demonstrates the importance of including food waste in Life Cycle Assessment studies of packaging systems. The connection between packaging design and food waste is a decisive aspect in the evaluation of actual environmental sustainability and should thus be considered in all assessments of packaging solutions.

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Comparative assessment of the environmental profile of PLA and PET drinking water bottles from a life cycle perspective

Cited by 200 publications

References 16 publications

How supply chain choices affect the life cycle impacts of medical products

How supply chain choices affect the life cycle impacts of medical products

Eco-Efficiency Assessment of Bioplastics Production Systems and End-of-Life Options

Environmental assessment of antimicrobial coatings for packaged fresh milk

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