Environmental Evaluation published by New Business Development Biodegradable Polymers in Ludwigshafen, 2013 Comparative Study of Bags verified by the Critical Review Panel
Environmental Evaluationpublished by New Business Development Biodegradable Polymers in Ludwigshafen, 2013
Comparative Study of Bagsverified by the Critical Review Panel
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IntroductionHow to use the interactive presentation
The Eco-Efficiency Analysis was critically reviewed by an independent external review panel consisting of the following organizations:
Critical Review Panel
Reason
Use
Transparency - the study is primarily intended to provide information to the public on the en-vironmental performance over the life cycle of bags made of different materials
Adequate communication tool for policy makers and NGOs
PurposeThe aim of the analysis is to demonstra-te the most eco-efficient life cycle for bags, the “2-in-1” concept: transportation of staple goods, reuse and disposal of organic waste, NOT the comparison of materials of bags
To exhibit the environmental benefits of pro-moting compostable bags for organic was-te, recycling as a pillar of the Roadmap to a Resource-Efficient Europe
IntroductionObjectives and use of the study
IntroductionObjectives and use of the study
Note: This methodology was used by the „Öko-Institut” (Institute for Applied Ecology)“ in Freiburg, Germany and in different Plastics Europe (formerly APME) studies. Öko-Institut uses a similar methodology with a different weighting system („Ecograde“). TNO in the Netherlands uses the BASF standard method with a different weighting system. The Wuppertal Institute on the method: “Basically, the large number of indicators used in the eco-efficiency analysis of BASF make relatively reliable statements possible …“. The method was initially developed by BASF and Roland Berger Consulting, Munich.
The study is based on the Eco-Efficiency methodology developed by BASF to assess the life cycle of all materials and energy required to fulfill a defined customer benefit (functional unit).
The environmental analysis follows the ISO standards 14040 and 14044 for life cycle assessment.
The methodology has been validated by the German TÜV in 2002 and by the US National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) in 2009.
The study set-upCustomer benefit and alternatives
Customer benefit
Transportation of 10 kg stap-le goods from supermarket to home, reuse of bag and dispo-sal of 2.5 kg organic waste
Bag made of:
Note: The customer benefit: “Transportation of 10kg staple goods from supermarket to home, reuse of bag and disposal of 2.5 kg organic kitchen waste” is considered during the whole life cycle. Bags considered in this study are designed to carry max. weight of ca. 13kg and max. volume of ca. 23l. Reuse is 1.5 times for paper bags and 2.5 times for plastic bags. Source: TNS Infratest: BASF Bio Bang Verhalten im Bereich „Bio-Müll“, Akzeptanz & Attraktivität biologisch abbaubarer (Einkaufs-)Tüten/ Verpackungen. 21.10.2010 Organic waste collected in bags weights 2.5kg. Source: Witzenhausen Institute. Main premises: total food waste collected in Germany in 2010 was 4.204,3 kt., 36,6 Million people have access and use properly organic waste management system, 2,2 people considered in a household, collection on weekly basis.
papervirgin PE
PE (25% recycled)BASF ecovio® film
BASF ecovio® FS film
The study set-upSystem boundaries example
Raw material aquisition & material production
Bagproduction
End-of-lifeUse
PLA
polymerisation
Corn production
Food waste
Corn milling / fermentation
Transportation*
Crude oil
Monomers(building blocks)
ecoflex® (fossil based)
BASF ecovio® Fblown film extrusion
BASF ecovio® F bag
Transportation**
Bag used 2.5 times for
transportation of 10 kg staple goods and 1
time for dispo-sal of 2.5 kg
organic waste
Composting of bag
Organic waste: composting rate 70%,
incineration rate 30%
BASF ecovio® F
* Transportation of BASF ecovio®
** Transportation of bags from converter to retailer Legend: Material/Process is not considered - Out of System Boundaries Material/Process considered in the system boundaries
National Model – Base Case
Use of ecovio® bags increases organic waste collection on the national level to 70% only. Reference: The Berlin project, Kanthak & Soeling, Müll und Abfall, August 2012
Only 10% of German population uses compostable bags for organic waste collection. Reference: Witzenhausen Institut
Credits for energy recovery: Energy recovery data are reported separately in the Ecoinvent documentation for organic waste (5.1 MJ/kg). This number is derived from the wooden parts in organic waste. Calorific value of kitchen waste is lower than the value given for organic waste (3.6 MJ/kg). Energy recovery by incineration of organic waste equals therefore the energy needed to run the incineration process. Source: Witzenhau-sen InstitutCredits for composting: credits for using compost as substitute for fertilizer are assigned to composting process of organic waste. Credits are not assigned to compos-ting of biodegradable bags, since the bags decompose into carbon dioxide and water.
Assumptions
The study set-upModelling the end-of-life (organic waste flow) for the alternatives
The study set-upModelling the end-of-life (organic waste flow) for the alternatives
Collection of food waste: The average increase of the collection rate due to ecovio® bag is 20% on the household level; having that 10% of the German population uses these bags leads to a 2% increase on the national level. This reflects the real world conditions .
orga
nic
was
te c
olle
ctio
n
PE/PE-25%recycled bag
NO b
ag
(was
hing
bin)
PE b
ag
residualwaste
BIOwaste
32%
68%
Paper bagPa
per
bag
PE b
ag
residualwaste
BIOwaste
32%
68%
ecovio® F/FS bag
ecov
io® b
agPE
bag
residualwaste
BIOwaste
30%
70%
Carrier Bags made of:
Incineration
Composting
National Model – Base Case
Methodology
Outcome
Values for environmental impact categories are normalized – the least favorable alternative is assi-gned a value of 1; the other alternatives are arranged on an axis ranging from 0 to 1. Since these are not absolute values, the relevance of the environmental impact differs among the categories. Aggregated and weighted data are presented in the environmental assessment portfolio.
ecovio® bags have environmental advantages over PE bags in the categories resource consump-tion, energy consumption and emissions. Land use and accidents are directly related to renewa-ble feedstock and farming - sustainable supply chain.
Results and Discussion
National Model – Base CaseEnvironmental Fingerprint
Decisive factors for each category: Energy- bag material production & cleaning the organic waste bin, Land use- occupa-tion of land for materials, type of land, Re-sources – materials and cleaning the bin, Risk potential- work in the field for material production, Toxicity- pre-chains, Emissions – e.g. carbon footprint – dominated by the organic waste disposal, water consumption relevant for the result.
land use
energy
emissions
toxicitypotential
occup. illnessesand accidents
resources
0,50
1,00
0,00
National Model – Base CaseEnvironmental Fingerprint
Results and Discussion
Citizens who collect organic waste in compostable ecovio® bags; 70 % of organic waste is composted, 30 % incinerated
Base case
All citizens who collect organic waste use compostable ecovio® bags; 100 % of organic waste is
composted, 0 % incinerated
land use
energy
emissions
toxicitypotential
occup. illnessesand accidents
resources
0,50
1,00
0,00
Vision ecovio® case
land use
energy
emissions
toxicitypotential
occup. illnessesand accidents
resources
0,50
1,00
0,00
National Model – Base Case & Vision ecovio® Environmental Fingerprint
National Model – Base Case & Vision ecovio® Environmental Fingerprint
Key drivers for the environmental impact in all considered categories are: a) functionality of the material -composting or incineration at end-of-life, and b) reuse rate of the bags.
Food waste management drives the results of the study and emphasize the added value of compostable material in the application where it makes sense.
Vision ecovio® case compared to the Base case: Progress in categories resource consumption and emissions for ecovio® due to the benefits for transforming organic waste into compost instead of organic waste incineration. Occupational illnesses and accidents are statistically higher in com-posting plants than in incineration plants, but the absolute values are insignificant for the overall environmental performance. Other impact categories remain un-changed.
Results and Discussion
Methodology:Impact categories are weighted and aggre-gated to demonstrate the overall environ-mental performance.
Base case: Evaluating the current situation, it was shown that even on this small purchase/usage scale ecovio® F bag is the most favorable alterna-tive from a pure environmental perspective, followed by PE and ecovio® FS grade bag with higher renewable content; however all alternatives are considered to be comparab-le from an LCA perspective (methodological non-accuracy of 10-20%).
Vision ecovio® case: Considering the fact that all Germany has to separate organic waste as of 2015 and thus looking into solutions for clean disposal and collecting as much organic waste as possib-le, compostable plastic bags should be con-sidered as a strategic solution. The vision ecovio® case reflects the positive effects of using more “2-in-1” bags in order to achie-ve the ideal scenario of fulfilling the national target by showing better environmental per-formance compared to PE and paper bags.
Citizens who collect organic waste in com-postable ecovio® bags; 70 % of organic waste is composted, 30 % incinerated
Base case Vision ecovio® case
All citizens who collect organic waste use compostable ecovio® bags; 100 % of organic
waste is composted, 0 % incinerated
paper BASF-ecovio® F filmPE (25% recycled) BASF-ecovio® FS filmPE
(hig
h)
env
ironm
.impa
ct(n
orm
.)
(
low
)
National Model – Base Case & Vision ecovio® Environmental Fingerprint
Results and Discussion
Model Household
3 parameters were found to be crucial for improving the environmental performance of ecovio® bags: CONVENIENCE EDUCATION ACCEPTANCE OF ORGANIC WASTE COLLECTION.
HOUSEHOLD EFFECT AFTER PURChASING DECISION
VOLUME INCREASE by using ecovio® bag for organic waste collection
RATE OF hOUSEhOLDS using bags for organic
waste collection
BASELINE OR-GANIC WASTE
DIVERSION
= x xVOLUME
Results and Discussion
Retailers & End-users – Way forward
Environmental FingerprintCumulative Energy Demand
paper
2,5
3,0
2,0
1,5
1,0
0,5
0,0
MJ/
CB
PE PE (25% recycled)
BASF-ecovio®
F filmBASF-ecovio®
FS film
Weighting Factor 12%
materials
processing
disposal polyolefins
disposal biopolymers
ecoflex®
transportation
disposal paper
disposal organic waste
cleaning waste bin
back
0,014
0,012
0,008
0,006
0,004
0,002
0,002
0,000
-0,002
kg A
g-eq
/CB
Weighting Factor 8%
paper PE PE (25% recycled)
materials
processing
disposal polyolefins
disposal biopolymers
ecoflex®
transportation
disposal paper
disposal organic waste
cleaning waste bin
BASF-ecovio®
F filmBASF-ecovio®
FS film
Environmental FingerprintResource Consumption
back
net. values
1.800
1.400
1.600
1.000
1.200
800
600
400
200
-200
0
g C
O2-
eq/C
B
PE (25% recycled)
Weighting Factor 10%
materials
processing
disposal polyolefins
disposal biopolymers
ecoflex®
transportation
disposal paper
disposal organic waste
cleaning waste bin
BASF-ecovio®
F filmBASF-ecovio®
FS film
Environmental FingerprintGlobal Warming Potential
back
paper PE
net. values
Environmental FingerprintAcidification Potential (AP)
0,8
0,7
0,5
0,6
0,4
0,3
0,2
0,1
0,0
g SO
2-eq
/CB
Weighting Factor 3%
materials
processing
disposal polyolefins
disposal biopolymers
ecoflex®
transportation
disposal paper
disposal organic waste
cleaning waste bin
back
paper PE PE (25% recycled)
BASF-ecovio®
F filmBASF-ecovio®
FS film
0,14
0,10
0,12
0,08
0,06
0,04
0,02
0,00
g C
2H4-
eq/C
B
Weighting Factor 2%
materials
processing
disposal polyolefins
disposal biopolymers
ecoflex®
transportation
disposal paper
disposal organic waste
cleaning waste bin
Environmental FingerprintPhotochemical Ozone Creation Potential (POCP)
back
paper PE PE (25% recycled)
BASF-ecovio®
F filmBASF-ecovio®
FS film
0,045
0,040
0,030
0,025
0,035
0,020
0,015
0,010
0,005
0,000
g C
FC11
-eq/
CB
Weighting Factor 0,5%
materials
processing
disposal polyolefins
disposal biopolymers
ecoflex®
transportation
disposal paper
disposal organic waste
cleaning waste bin
Environmental FingerprintOzone Depletion Potential (ODP)
back
paper PE PE (25% recycled)
BASF-ecovio®
F filmBASF-ecovio®
FS film
250
150
200
100
50
0
I gra
y w
ater
-eq/
CB
Weighting Factor 13%
materials
processing
disposal polyolefins
disposal biopolymers
ecoflex®
transportation
disposal paper
disposal organic waste
cleaning waste bin
Environmental FingerprintWater Emissions
back
paper PE PE (25% recycled)
BASF-ecovio®
F filmBASF-ecovio®
FS film
0,004
0,001
0,002
0,003
0,000
- 0,001
- 0,002
- 0,003
wei
ghte
d kg
/CB
PE (25% recycled)
Weighting Factor 1%
materials
processing
disposal polyolefins
disposal biopolymers
ecoflex®
transportation
disposal paper
disposal organic waste
cleaning waste bin
BASF-ecovio®
F filmBASF-ecovio®
FS film
net. values
Environmental FvingerprintSolid Wastes
back
paper PE
0,16
0,02
0,10
0,12
0,14
0,08
0,06
0,04
0,00
m2/
a / C
B
PE (25% recycled)
Weighting Factor 21%
materials
processing
disposal polyolefins
disposal biopolymers
ecoflex®
transportation
disposal paper
disposal organic waste
cleaning waste bin
BASF-ecovio®
F filmBASF-ecovio®
FS film
Land Use
back
paper PE
0,35
0,0
0,20
0,25
0,30
0,15
0,10
0,5
-0,5
norm
.tox.
pts.
PE (25% recycled)
Weighting Factor 20%
materials
processing
disposal polyolefins
disposal biopolymers
ecoflex®
transportation
disposal paper
disposal organic waste
cleaning waste bin
BASF-ecovio®
F filmBASF-ecovio®
FS film
Toxicity Potential
back
paper PE
1,4
0,0
0,8
1,0
1,2
0,6
0,4
0,2
-0,4
-0,2
PE (25% recycled)
Weighting Factor 9%
materials
processing
disposal polyolefins
disposal biopolymers
ecoflex®
transportation
disposal paper
disposal organic waste
cleaning waste bin
BASF-ecovio®
F filmBASF-ecovio®
FS film
net. values
norm
.Ilne
sses
&acc
iden
ts/C
B
Occupational Illnesses and Accidents
back
paper PE