LCA and Emergy Approach to Evaluate the Environmental Performance of Plastic Bags from Fossil and Renewable Sources with the Function of Conditioning MSW

Matheus Tavares Lacerda, Marcelo Vitor Fiatkoski, Marcell Mariano Corrêa Maceno (), Feni Dalano Roosevelt Agostinho, Michele Rigon Spier, Mariana Kleina and Marcos Augusto Mendes Marques
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Matheus Tavares Lacerda: Production Engineering Post-Graduate Programme, Federal University of Parana, Curitiba 80060-000, Brazil
Marcelo Vitor Fiatkoski: Production Engineering Post-Graduate Programme, Federal University of Parana, Curitiba 80060-000, Brazil
Marcell Mariano Corrêa Maceno: Production Engineering Post-Graduate Programme, Federal University of Parana, Curitiba 80060-000, Brazil
Feni Dalano Roosevelt Agostinho: Production Engineering Post-Graduate Programme, Paulista University, São Paulo 01504-000, Brazil
Michele Rigon Spier: Food Engineering Post-Graduate Programme, Federal University of Parana, Curitiba 80060-000, Brazil
Mariana Kleina: Production Engineering Post-Graduate Programme, Federal University of Parana, Curitiba 80060-000, Brazil
Marcos Augusto Mendes Marques: Production Engineering Post-Graduate Programme, Federal University of Parana, Curitiba 80060-000, Brazil

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 24, 1-21

Abstract: This study aimed to compare the environmental performance of plastic bags made of three different polymers, considering two product functions: carrying goods and packing municipal solid waste. The three polymers studied were HDPE, LDPE, and thermoplastic starch (TPS). Life cycle assessment and emergy accounting were used to evaluate the environmental performance of each scenario in analysis. To develop this research, eight scenarios were created to represent the customs of use and consumption in the Brazilian population. The LCA results showed that, in general, the scenarios with HDPE plastic bags presented the best environmental performances, while those with TPS presented the worst. The processes that contributed most to these results, representing 70% or more of the environmental impact in each impact category, are related to the use of raw materials, electricity, and water for the manufacture of plastic bags and the treatment in landfills. In other words, the fact that TPS has a mass around six times greater than that of HDPE and two times greater than that of LDPE ends up leaving this type of polymer with the worst environmental performance. In the comparative analysis of scenarios for the same polymer, scenarios that involve the use and reuse of plastic bags present the lowest potential environmental impacts. In contrast, those related to the use and disposal in landfills present the highest possible environmental impacts. The results of emergy accounting showed that the HDPE scenarios had the lowest total emergy flow, ranging from 1.77 × 10 13 seJ to 2.40 × 10 13 seJ. In contrast, the LDPE scenarios had the highest total emergy flow, ranging from 1.15 × 10 14 to 1.21 × 10 14 seJ. Although LDPE had the highest total emergy flow values, these results are similar to those obtained by the fossil resource scarcity impact category, which focuses on resource consumption analysis. Thus, through a real approach to the use of plastic bags and solid waste management in the Brazilian context, this study brings essential insights to direct public policies related to the consumption of plastic bags.

Keywords: plastic shopping bags; single-use plastic bags; trash bags; life cycle assessment; emergy accounting (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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