Environmental profile of a bio-based and biodegradable foamed packaging prototype in comparison with the current benchmark

Razza, Francesco; Innocenti, Francesco Degli; Dobon, Antonio; Aliaga, César; Sánchez, C. Rueda; Hortal, Mercedes

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.04.033

Cited by 79 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…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%

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%

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 most popular cushioning materials include expanded polyethylene (EPE), expanded polypropylene (EPP), expanded polystyrene (EPS), and expanded polyurethane (EPU), due to their strength, light weight per unit volume, and low cost (Razza et al 2015). For example, EPS is a white hard foam that is used extensively in single-use packages for packing commercial and electronic goods.…”

Section: Cushioning Packagingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prospects for Replacement of Some Plastics in Packaging with Lignocellulose Materials: A Brief Review

Su¹,

Yang

Liu³

et al. 2018

BioResources

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There has been increasing concern regarding environmental problems arising from the widespread use of petroleum-based plastic materials for packaging. Many efforts have been made to develop sustainable and biodegradable packaging materials to replace plastic products. The current review summarizes recent research progress in developing cellulose packaging materials to replace plastics used for cushioning and barrier packaging functions based on pulp fibers, cellulose nanofibers, and regenerated cellulose films to benefit from their renewability, sustainability and biodegradability. The cushioning packaging materials include molded pulp products and bio-based foams. Advanced cellulose films and paper can be good barriers for oxygen and carbon dioxide gases, as well as for water vapor. Several cellulose fiber-based packaging products have been commercialized in areas that used to be occupied solely by plastic products.

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“…Further, if landfilled, the biodegradable film, owing to the emission of methane gas, courtesy anaerobic microbial activity, causes 180 times greater global warming than the non-biodegradable petroleum-based plastics. Razza et al (2015) have compared expanded polystyrene (EPS) packaging systems to a bio-based, biodegradable starch-based prototype (both to be used for protecting washing machines during transport and storage) and concluded that despite its higher density, the bio-based alternative has a carbon footprint 40% smaller than EPS. However, even as one digests the findings and conclusions made by the authors of all these publications, it must always be remembered that even though consumers are concerned about the (environmental) sustainability of products they buy, they are not always willing to pay more for them (Savinov 2014).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

An economic-environmental analysis of selected barrier-coating materials used in packaging food products: a Swedish case study

Venkatesh

Nyflött

Bonnerup

et al. 2017

Environ Dev Sustain

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The purpose of a barrier coating in food packaging is primarily to increase the shelf life of the foodstuff contained within the packaging, preserve its colour, odour, taste and quality, and thereby reduce food wastage (both at retail outlets and households). While most publications hitherto have compared packaging and barrier-coating materials on the basis of their environmental impacts alone, this paper adopts a more holistic approach by factoring in the economic aspect as well. Four barrier material alternatives-starch, polyethylene, EVOH ? kaolin and latex ? kaolin are analysed. Two well-defined end-oflife handling scenarios, relevant to Sweden, are: one in which everything except starch is recycled, with starch being composted, and the other in which everything is incinerated. Among the several environmental impact categories which can be analysed, this paper considers only global warming. Two approaches are tested to combine the economic and environmental aspects-normalisation, weighting and aggregating on the one hand, and using the carbon tax to internalise the externality caused by GHG emissions on the other. For the set of weighting factors obtained thanks to a survey conducted by the authors (40.6% for environmental and 59.4% for economic), starch emerges as the most sustainable alternative, followed by polyethylene for both the end-of-life handling scenarios. This tallies with the result obtained by using the carbon tax for internalisation of the externality. The case study, methodology and results presented in this paper, will hopefully be a springboard for more detailed studies of this nature, under the umbrella of sustainability.

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Environmental profile of a bio-based and biodegradable foamed packaging prototype in comparison with the current benchmark

Cited by 79 publications

References 10 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

Prospects for Replacement of Some Plastics in Packaging with Lignocellulose Materials: A Brief Review

An economic-environmental analysis of selected barrier-coating materials used in packaging food products: a Swedish case study

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