Environmental performance of different water bottles with different compositions: A cradle to gate approach
Plastic production has increased over the years and the packaging industry was responsible for 44% of the total plastic production. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), due to its favorable properties, is one of the most used polymers in this sector.This study first aimed to compare the environmental p...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2024-06-01
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| Series: | Cleaner Production Letters |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666791624000071 |
| _version_ | 1797256301014679552 |
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| author | Bruno Silva Inês Costa Pedro Santana Maria E. Zacarias Bruno Machado Pedro Silva Sandra Carvalho Filipa Faria Catarina Basto-Silva |
| author_facet | Bruno Silva Inês Costa Pedro Santana Maria E. Zacarias Bruno Machado Pedro Silva Sandra Carvalho Filipa Faria Catarina Basto-Silva |
| author_sort | Bruno Silva |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Plastic production has increased over the years and the packaging industry was responsible for 44% of the total plastic production. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), due to its favorable properties, is one of the most used polymers in this sector.This study first aimed to compare the environmental performance related to the production of a novel recycled PET (rPET) form, namely, rPET flake, and then compare it with the production of virgin PET (vPET) and rPET pellet. Secondly, this study aimed to compare the environmental impacts of four water bottles with different compositions, namely, option A composed with only vPET, option B made with 50% vPET and 50% rPET pellet, option C made with 75% rPET pellet and 25% rPET flake, and option D made with 50% vPET, 25% rPET pellet and 25% rPET flake. Option A was designed as a single-use water bottle, while the remaining options (Options B, C and D) were thought to be reusable bottles, and for that reason were heavier and more robust compared to Option A. The environmental impact assessment followed the International Standard Rules of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), and the impact assessment method used was the Environmental Product Declaration. Ecoibéria and Logoplaste provided the majority of the required data, and three functional units were considered. The first one was the production of 1 kg of PET, the second was the production of different water bottles, and finally, the third one was the consumption of 2 l of water with different water bottles. As a result, it was first observed that the production of rPET flake in comparison to vPET reduces, on average, 79% of the impacts, and rPET pellet reduces 10% of the impacts. Secondly, in the production of the different water bottles, Option A, the single-use bottle, presented the lowest environmental impacts in almost all categories. Finally, when taking into account the reusable factor, the use of single-use bottles presented the higher environmental impact in all categories, probably because of the dilution of the environmental impacts associated with the production of heavier and robust reusable bottles by the multiple times of uses of these bottles. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T22:19:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c9150772c261403d9865968ca3d1d53e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2666-7916 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T22:19:34Z |
| publishDate | 2024-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cleaner Production Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-c9150772c261403d9865968ca3d1d53e2024-03-20T06:11:30ZengElsevierCleaner Production Letters2666-79162024-06-016100061Environmental performance of different water bottles with different compositions: A cradle to gate approachBruno Silva0Inês Costa1Pedro Santana2Maria E. Zacarias3Bruno Machado4Pedro Silva5Sandra Carvalho6Filipa Faria7Catarina Basto-Silva8Department of Circular Economy and Environment, PIEP – Innovation in Polymer Engineering, University of Minho, Azurém Campus Ed.15, 4800-058 Guimarães, PortugalDepartment of Circular Economy and Environment, PIEP – Innovation in Polymer Engineering, University of Minho, Azurém Campus Ed.15, 4800-058 Guimarães, PortugalLogoplaste Innovation Lab, Estrada da Malveira 900, 2750-834, Cascais, PortugalLogoplaste Innovation Lab, Estrada da Malveira 900, 2750-834, Cascais, PortugalLogoplaste Innovation Lab, Estrada da Malveira 900, 2750-834, Cascais, PortugalEcoibéria – Reciclados Ibéricos, S.A., Travessa Sebastião Fernandes 60, 4760-706, Vila Nova de Famalicão, PortugalEcoibéria – Reciclados Ibéricos, S.A., Travessa Sebastião Fernandes 60, 4760-706, Vila Nova de Famalicão, PortugalDepartment of Circular Economy and Environment, PIEP – Innovation in Polymer Engineering, University of Minho, Azurém Campus Ed.15, 4800-058 Guimarães, PortugalDepartment of Circular Economy and Environment, PIEP – Innovation in Polymer Engineering, University of Minho, Azurém Campus Ed.15, 4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal; Corresponding author.Plastic production has increased over the years and the packaging industry was responsible for 44% of the total plastic production. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), due to its favorable properties, is one of the most used polymers in this sector.This study first aimed to compare the environmental performance related to the production of a novel recycled PET (rPET) form, namely, rPET flake, and then compare it with the production of virgin PET (vPET) and rPET pellet. Secondly, this study aimed to compare the environmental impacts of four water bottles with different compositions, namely, option A composed with only vPET, option B made with 50% vPET and 50% rPET pellet, option C made with 75% rPET pellet and 25% rPET flake, and option D made with 50% vPET, 25% rPET pellet and 25% rPET flake. Option A was designed as a single-use water bottle, while the remaining options (Options B, C and D) were thought to be reusable bottles, and for that reason were heavier and more robust compared to Option A. The environmental impact assessment followed the International Standard Rules of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), and the impact assessment method used was the Environmental Product Declaration. Ecoibéria and Logoplaste provided the majority of the required data, and three functional units were considered. The first one was the production of 1 kg of PET, the second was the production of different water bottles, and finally, the third one was the consumption of 2 l of water with different water bottles. As a result, it was first observed that the production of rPET flake in comparison to vPET reduces, on average, 79% of the impacts, and rPET pellet reduces 10% of the impacts. Secondly, in the production of the different water bottles, Option A, the single-use bottle, presented the lowest environmental impacts in almost all categories. Finally, when taking into account the reusable factor, the use of single-use bottles presented the higher environmental impact in all categories, probably because of the dilution of the environmental impacts associated with the production of heavier and robust reusable bottles by the multiple times of uses of these bottles.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666791624000071 |
| spellingShingle | Bruno Silva Inês Costa Pedro Santana Maria E. Zacarias Bruno Machado Pedro Silva Sandra Carvalho Filipa Faria Catarina Basto-Silva Environmental performance of different water bottles with different compositions: A cradle to gate approach Cleaner Production Letters |
| title | Environmental performance of different water bottles with different compositions: A cradle to gate approach |
| title_full | Environmental performance of different water bottles with different compositions: A cradle to gate approach |
| title_fullStr | Environmental performance of different water bottles with different compositions: A cradle to gate approach |
| title_full_unstemmed | Environmental performance of different water bottles with different compositions: A cradle to gate approach |
| title_short | Environmental performance of different water bottles with different compositions: A cradle to gate approach |
| title_sort | environmental performance of different water bottles with different compositions a cradle to gate approach |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666791624000071 |
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