How accurate is plastic end-of-life modeling in LCA? Investigating the main assumptions and deviations for the end-of-life management of plastic packaging

Going Green: How Swapping Polyethylene for Polylactic Acid in Sanitary Pads can Reduce Environmental Impact - A Life Cycle Assessment Comparison

“…The production of PE involves the extraction and processing of petroleum, a resource that is nite and has welldocumented negative environmental consequences (Liptow and Tillman 2012; Franklin Associates 2020). Furthermore, the emissions associated with the production and incineration of PE contribute to air pollution, water contamination, and greenhouse gas emissions (Pellengahr et al 2023). This aligns with the observed impacts on water, aquatic ecosystems, global warming, and human toxicity categories.…”

Recommendations for life-cycle assessment of recyclable plastics in a circular economy

“…, substitution method, loss of quality method, circular footprint formula) attempt to capture what is a known issue for plastics: varying quality of recycled material. 11,28,65–70 Mechanical recycling can yield lower-quality downcycled materials or material that is not approved for specific applications ( e.g. , food contact materials), whereas advanced chemical or solvent-based methods may produce higher quality recyclate.…”

“…71 To address this problem for plastics, some LCA practitioners have employed material substitution factors. 4,7,12,13,66,72 However, even attributing environmental benefits solely based on material substitution factors can be misleading, as the substitution factor and resulting life-cycle impact vary based on the intended application and are uncertain due to dynamic market conditions. 13…”

“…, the 50/50 method, cut-off method). 11,28,65,66 Other allocation methods for open-loop recycling ( e.g. , substitution method, loss of quality method, circular footprint formula) attempt to capture what is a known issue for plastics: varying quality of recycled material.…”

A Comparison of Laboratory and Industrial Processes Reveals the Effect of Dwell Time and UV Pre-Exposure on the Behavior of Two Polymers in a Disintegration Trial

“…This is difficult to achieve for new and emerging technologies because, even if data are available, the technological readiness level (TRL) tends to be too low for comparison to established technologies [ 14 ]. There is also a lack of primary data modeling end-of-life scenarios, such as home composting [ 15 ]. It is therefore necessary to build reliable datasets that identify the real environmental benefits of biopolymers such as PLA and PBS.…”