Circular Economy: Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Fossil Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) and its Recycled and Bio-Based Counterparts

• Autorzy: Magdalena Rybaczewska-Błażejowska , Angel Mena-Nieto
• Języki publikacji: EN

Abstrakty

EN

The transition to circular economy requires diversifying material sources, improving secondary raw materials management, including recycling, and finally finding sustainable alternative materials. Both recycled and bio-based plastics are often regarded as promising alternatives to conventional fossil-based plastics. Their broad application instead of fossilbased plastics is, however, frequently the subject of criticism because of offering limited environmental benefits. The study presents a comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) of fossil-based polyethylene terephthalate (PET) versus its recycled and bio-based counterparts. The system boundary covers the plastics manufacturing and end-of-life plastic management stages (cradle-to-cradle/grave variant). Based on the data and assumptions set out in the research, recycled PET (rPET) demonstrates the best environmental profile out of the evaluated plastics in all impact categories. The study contributes to circular economy in plastics by providing transparent and consistent knowledge on their environmental portfolio. (original abstract)

Słowa kluczowe

EN

Circular economy; Life Cycle Assessment (LCA); Recyclable materials; Sustainable consumption; PET Packaging; Waste management

PL

Gospodarka zamkniętego obiegu; Ocena cyklu życia; Surowce wtórne; Konsumpcja zrównoważona; Opakowania PET; Gospodarka odpadami

• Czasopismo: Management and Production Engineering Review
• Rocznik: 2020
• Tom: 11
• Numer: nr 4
• Strony: 121--128

Twórcy

autor

Magdalena Rybaczewska-Błażejowska

• Kielce University of Technology, Poland

autor

Angel Mena-Nieto

• University of Huelva, School of Engineering, Spain

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Identyfikatory

DOI

10.24425/mper.2020.136126