Environmental payback periods of reusable alternatives to single-use plastic kitchenware products

Fetner, Hannah; Miller, Stephen E.

doi:10.1007/s11367-021-01946-6

Cited by 29 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 38 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Five studies in this review were not included in the quantitative reuse meta-analysis; two had no single-use baseline and three had no absolute impact data but provided their own break-even points. For Climate Change impacts, these were 4 times for reusable plastic cutlery ( 67 ), 2-4 times for takeaway food containers ( 68 ), <3-7 times for drinks cups ( 70 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Reusable products were compared to single use products in 17 LCAs (21,25,28,30,35,41,43,(56)(57)(58)(64)(65)(66)(67)(68)(69)(70). Studies comparing packaging designed to be reused with packaging designed for single use, based on both products being used just once (n=6 studies; 32 comparison points) demonstrated almost universal and often large relative increases in all health-related impacts for reusable packaging (Figure S4).…”

Section: Health Effects Of Reusable Plastic Packagingmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Human health effects of recycling and reusing plastic packaging in the food system: a systematic review and meta-analysis of life cycle assessments

Deeney

Green

Yan

et al. 2022

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Circular strategies, including recycling and reuse of food packaging, are critical responses to the plastic pollution crisis and could provide co-benefits and trade-offs for human health. Our meta-analysis of life cycle assessment (LCA) data quantifies possible health effects using Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) mediated by climate change, ozone, air pollution, toxicity, and water scarcity. We found strong evidence for reduced health risks with both a higher percentage of recycled content and a greater end-of-life recycling rate, resulting in around a day of healthy life saved per tonne of plastic packaging recycled. On average, reusable packaging reduced the health impacts associated with single use plastics after 30 uses, which is unlikely reflected in current consumer behaviour. Data from low- and middle-income countries, and greater use of health indicators in LCA, are urgently needed. LCA is a unique tool that could be optimised for interdisciplinary public health research on circular economies.TeaserLife cycle assessment meta-analysis shows recycling and reusing plastic food packaging could provide human health co-benefits, and some risks.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Health Effects Of Reusable Plastic Packagingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Human health effects of recycling and reusing plastic packaging in the food system: a systematic review and meta-analysis of life cycle assessments

Deeney

Green

Yan

et al. 2022

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…On the other hand, the S2 sampling point was a remote area for the tourists, and therefore the abundance of MPs was recorded lowest at S2. Previous studies indicated that MP contamination was significantly positively correlated with population density, river discharge, and the spread of industrial zones (Fetner and Miller, 2021;Zhu et al, 2021). However, present outcomes were compared with other countries that used almost similar extraction and detection methods, as well as the quantification unit (Table 1).…”

Section: Occurrence and Spatial Distribution Of Microplasticsmentioning

confidence: 92%

Microplastics in Sediment of Kuakata Beach, Bangladesh: Occurrence, Spatial Distribution, and Risk Assessment

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Kuakata beach, known as Daughter of Sea in Bangladesh, has drawn a growing number of tourists from all over the world, leading to the higher use of single plastic products. This study was a first attempt to describe the occurrence, spatial distribution, and ecological risk of microplastics (MPs) in Kuakata beach sediments. A total of 24 surface sediment samples were collected from the intertidal zone of the beach, and MPs were extracted using the density separation method and a stereomicroscope. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was used for qualitative and quantitative identification. The results revealed that the average MPs in the beach sediment were 232 ± 52 items kg–1 dry weight, which was much higher than many other sandy beaches throughout the world. Analyses of variance showed a significant (p < 0.01) difference among the mean abundance of MPs in sampling points. Fibers were dominated in every sampling point with an average of 123 ± 27 item kg–1. Most of the MPs observed were colored (60%), and the rest were transparent (40%). It was found that the size range of 1–5 mm MPs constituted over half (55%) of total MPs covering an average value of 127 ± 34 items kg–1. Three polymer types were identified in the sediment samples through FTIR analysis which followed the decreasing order of polyethylene terephthalate > polyethylene > polypropylene. Correlation analysis showed a positive relationship between the abundance of MPs and the finer grain size of sediment (p = 0.055; r = 0.7), indicating grain size-controlled the density of MPs. The pollution load index was assessed to estimate the ecological risk and found that the beach sediment of Kuakata belonged to the risk category I of the pollution index. This investigation provided preliminary information on MPs pollution in the marine ecosystem that the policymakers can use to take appropriate management approaches.

show abstract

“…The number of reuses that are required for a reusable bag to "break even" with its single-use plastic counterpart is highly variable and depends on the type of material used, the environmental impact category in question, and a variety of other assumptions (Lewis et al, 2010). While not specifically focused on carrier bags, a number of LCA studies have highlighted the importance of consumer reuse to demonstrate environmental benefits of reusables over single-use plastic (Woods and Bakshi, 2014;Potting and van der Harst, 2015;Blanca-Alcubilla et al, 2020;Fetner et al, 2021). Certain reusable items may never break even with single-use plastic on certain impact categories, due to the impacts of washing the reusable alternative being greater than the single-use item (Fetner et al, 2021).…”

Section: Unintended Consequences Of Plastic Elimination or Substitutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The capabilities and deficiencies of life cycle assessment to address the plastic problem

Miller

2022

Front. Sustain.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Plastic is a ubiquitous material that has caused major environmental impacts. Ecosystem damage from improperly disposed plastic waste is the most visible of these impacts; however, plastic also has less visible environmental impacts throughout its supply chain. At the same time, plastic is not unique in possessing severe, often invisible, environmental impacts that occur throughout its life cycle. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a helpful tool can be used to contextualize the environmental impacts of plastic compared with alternative solutions or material substitutes. LCA can broaden our understanding of the environmental impacts of a product beyond what is the most obvious and visible, taking a comprehensive view that encompasses raw material extraction, manufacturing, transportation, use, and end-of-life. LCA can be used to target specific areas for improvement, understand and evaluate tradeoffs among different materials, and can be helpful to avoid environmental problem-shifting. This review provides an overview of the LCA process and describes the benefits and limitations of LCA methods as they pertain to plastic and plastic waste. This paper summarizes major trends that are observed in prior LCA studies, along with a discussion of how LCA can best be used to help resolve the plastics problem without causing other unintended issues. The life cycle perspective analyzes the environmental impact associated with a specific product, often comparing the environmental impacts of one alternative to another. An alternative perspective analyzes the aggregated environmental impacts of the entire plastic sector, analyzing the full scope and scale of plastics in the environment. Both perspectives provide meaningful data and insights, yet each provides an incomplete understanding of the plastics problem. The comparative LCA perspective and the aggregated environmental impact perspective can complement one another and lead to overall improved environmental outcomes when used in tandem. The discussion highlights that reduced consumption of the underlying need for plastic is the only way to ensure reduced environmental impacts, whereas interventions that promote material substitution and or incentivize shifts toward other kinds of consumption may result in unintended environmental consequences.

show abstract

Environmental payback periods of reusable alternatives to single-use plastic kitchenware products

Cited by 29 publications

References 38 publications

Human health effects of recycling and reusing plastic packaging in the food system: a systematic review and meta-analysis of life cycle assessments

Human health effects of recycling and reusing plastic packaging in the food system: a systematic review and meta-analysis of life cycle assessments

Microplastics in Sediment of Kuakata Beach, Bangladesh: Occurrence, Spatial Distribution, and Risk Assessment

The capabilities and deficiencies of life cycle assessment to address the plastic problem

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About