End-of-Life Options for Bio-Based Plastics in a Circular Economy—Status Quo and Potential from a Life Cycle Assessment Perspective

Sebastian Spierling, Venkateshwaran Venkatachalam, Marina Mudersbach, Nico Becker, Christoph Herrmann and Hans-Josef Endres
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Sebastian Spierling: Institute of Plastics and Circular Economy, Leibniz Universität Hannover, An der Universität 2, 30823 Garbsen, Germany
Venkateshwaran Venkatachalam: Institute of Plastics and Circular Economy, Leibniz Universität Hannover, An der Universität 2, 30823 Garbsen, Germany
Marina Mudersbach: Fraunhofer Institute for Wood Research, Application Center for Wood Fiber Research, Heisterbergallee 10A, 30453 Hannover, Germany
Nico Becker: Institute for Bioplastics and Biocomposites, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Hannover, Heisterbergallee 10A, 30453 Hannover, Germany
Christoph Herrmann: Institute of Machine Tools and Production Technology, Sustainable Manufacturing & Life Cycle Engineering, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Langer Kamp 19 B, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany
Hans-Josef Endres: Institute of Plastics and Circular Economy, Leibniz Universität Hannover, An der Universität 2, 30823 Garbsen, Germany

Resources, 2020, vol. 9, issue 7, 1-20

Abstract: The bio-based plastic market is forecast to grow in the next years. With a growing market share and product range, the implementation of circular thinking is becoming more and more important also for bio-based plastics to enable a sound circular economy for these group of plastics. Therefore, it is important to assess the environmental performance for different end-of-life options of bio-based plastics from an early stage on. This review presents a comprehensive overview on the current status quo of different end-of-life options for bio-based plastics from an environmental perspective. Based on the status quo and the corresponding impact assessment results, the global plastic demand as well as the technical substitution potential of bio-based plastics, the environmental saving potential in case of the different end-of-life options was calculated. The review shows that there is a focus on polylactic acid (PLA) regarding end-of-life assessment, with studies covering all end-of-life options. The focus of the impact assessment has been set on global warming potential (GWP). With respect to GWP, the analysis of a future global potential of PLA showed, for mechanical recycling, the highest saving potential with 94.1 Mio. t CO 2 -eq. per year in comparison to virgin material.

Keywords: bio-based plastics; life cycle assessment; end-of-life options; circular economy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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