The Life of Plastic Packaging

CROFTON, Md., July 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The EPS Industry Alliance (EPS-IA) has completed a life cycle assessment (LCA) for expanded polystyrene foam packaging. The study was conducted by Intertek Sustainability using the most current life cycle methodology, in accordance with ISO 14040:2006, Environmental Management Life Cycle Assessment Principles and Framework and the International Reference Life Cycle Data System (ILCD) Handbook.

The LCA study evaluates the environmental impacts at various stages of the lifecycle of nine different EPS packaging applications including white goods, consumer electronics, corner protection and pharmaceutical and agricultural cold chain shippers. Material and energy inputs, differences and trade-offs are identified through the LCA, permitting quantified and comparable data analysis of environmental advantages and identification of opportunities to further reduce environmental impacts. To ensure the LCA report represents an industry average, manufacturing and logistics data was provided by a variety of EPS-IA member companies. EPS-IA also maintains the LCA report for raw material production, which is used to provide more accurate LCA accounting for downstream application like packaging and building insulation.

Life cycle assessments and life cycle analysis can be used in two ways, to evaluate and compare materials when designing sustainable packaging or to benchmark manufacturing and processing metrics to set environmental improvement goals. While policy makers, NGO's and other packaging stakeholders are recognizing LCA as a valuable tool in the environmental arena, society would benefit from a more robust adoption and implementation to encourage a broader focus on a product's entire environmental footprint.

To help everyone understand the value of LCA, EPS-IA has created several infographics showing how EPS life cycle impacts compare to regular daily activities. It is easier to understand CO₂ emissions or energy consumption with some interpretative value rather than a random data point without context. For example, we illustrate how EPS energy consumption compares to the energy used by a single lightbulb, CO₂ emissions to car production and driving distances and EPS water use is measured against an individual's daily water consumption in various scenarios – for instance, one day at a hotel or in a hospital.

To promote the increased use of LCA in sustainable packaging and in the context of circular economy principles, EPS-IA is working with UL Environment to develop the first North American Product Category Rule (PCR) for protective packaging. A PCR is a precursor to an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), which is a certified third-party reviewed report that would allow packaging engineers to choose materials based on the full landscape of its environmental impacts. UL Environment is now inviting packaging stakeholders representing paper, plastics and other material interests, to participate in the PCR development process.

Today's circular economy demands that we approach packaging design in an innovative way. However, without scientific data it will be challenging to measure environmental improvement. The development of a packaging PCR is a concrete step toward increased and improved use of life cycle tools by solid waste professionals, legislators, corporations and consumers. Life cycle assessment and life cycle analysis are valuable tools and can play a key role in making truly beneficial environmental decisions, but LCA needs to be implemented across the board and needs to be translated into data points that are easy for a wide audience to grasp.

For more information, please contact Betsy Bowers at 800-607-3772, [email protected], or visit www.epsindustry.org.

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SOURCE EPS Industry Alliance