Life Cycle Assessments for Packaging |
|||||
|
|
|
Product and Waste LCAs |
Depending on the information required, LCAs for packaging can either be product LCAs or waste LCAs (please also refer to Waste Management/Packaging ). During the past years in the on-going debate about compulsory deposit on beverage containers in Germany, the manufacturers of packaging were keen on determining whether a type of packaging is considered »ecologically beneficial«, thus qualifying as exempt from mandatory deposit. The product LCA is quite an appropriate instrument for finding an answer to this question. A product LCA includes an examination of various packaging systems, taking a closer look at the production of the packaging, its distribution and service life as well its disposal at the end of its life cycle. On contrast, the method of a waste LCA is used when the question is posed from the standpoint of the more environmentally friendly disposal route of the packaging in the sense of the Closed Substance Cycle Waste Management Act. The various disposal options for the packaging systems can then be compared without taking the past life of packaging (manufacture, service life) into consideration. |
||
|
|||||
|
|
LCAs for packaging are conducted in many aspects of various projects at IFEU. The different packaging materials are examined – e.g. plastics, glass, composite materials (like TetraPaks), packaging made of renewable resources/raw materials – if the question is primarily focused on the ecological benefit of a type of packaging. If better environmental compatibility of the disposal route is emphasized, then appropriate possibilities for recovery of a certain packaging are looked into and the options for disposal are compared. The following LCAs for packaging are availible for download:
Further current and finished projects see Reference List "LCA" |
|||
| |
|||||
|
Contact |
Andreas Detzel, andreas.detzel@ifeu.de |
|||
| |
|||||
