Environmental impact assessment of the implementation of a Deposit-Refund System for packaging waste in Spain: A solution or an additional problem?

Identifying the most sustainable beer packaging through a Life Cycle Assessment

The beer industry stands as a significant player in the global economy, and it is increasingly renowned not only for its diverse flavours, but also for its impact on the environment. Amidst its popularity, the beer sector faces mounting pressure to address environmental concerns, particularly related to packaging. As the world is increasingly embracing sustainability as a guiding principle, the beer industry's approach to packaging has come under scrutiny for its ecological footprint. This study aims to shed some light on the environmental footprint of beer production by applying a life cycle assessment, comparing different types of packaging. This study calculated the product environmental footprint of beer consumed in PET kegs, glass bottles and aluminium cans, and performed three sensitivity analyses on load factors of transport, waste transport distance and recycled content. The results identified draught beer in PET kegs as the most sustainable solution for beer consumption, with a footprint of around 90 % lower than the other types of packaging. However, the analysis showed that the biggest environmental impact is found in the cultivation, packaging and use phases, that account for a contribution of 60 %, 27 % and 11 % respectively. The results of this study highlighted the importance of the load factor in the distribution phase, of recyclability and of the use of secondary raw materials for packaging. This study stands as an original and valuable contribution, offering a comprehensive understanding of the environmental impact of beer packaging and of the beverage industry. Its insights can guide breweries, policymakers, and consumers towards sustainable choices, fostering a positive change within the sector. It also questions the sustainability of circular solutions by comparing recycling and reuse options. This study revealed also that a green supply chain management is key in the transition towards a circular economy and in the decarbonization process.

Indicators and characteristics of PET packaging collected in a Deposit and Refund System pilot project

Countries that have a Deposit and Refund System (DRS) show high rates of selective beverage packaging waste collection, indicating that it is a powerful economic instrument for achieving the European packaging recycling targets. DRS ensure that collected material is of a sufficiently high quality to be incorporated into new products. In Portugal, the Government has decided to implement a DRS for non-reusable beverage packaging as a strategy to increase the packaging recycling rate, which is currently considerably lower than the mandatory European targets. To acquire knowledge and experience for the design and implementation of the future DRS, a pilot project was carried out with polyethylene terephthalate (PET) beverage packaging, using 23 Reverse Vending Machines (RVM) installed at supermarkets across mainland Portugal. The authors monitored the DRS pilot project between March 2020 and December 2022. The main objectives were to determine operational indicators and evaluate the characteristics and quality of the PET deposited, using both the data recorded by the RVM and a characterisation of the packages contained in a sample of 46 bags. The results provided important data for planning the Portuguese strategy, which may also support operational or political decisions in countries in similar contexts. Whilst the recycling plants that received the material collected in these RVM confirmed that its quality allows for the production of PET food-grade flakes, this research identified a need to improve the design of packaging and to communicate this with producers, to better allow for the incorporation of recycled material into food beverage packaging.

Are deposit-refund systems effective in managing glass packaging? State of the art and future directions in Europe

Glass packaging gives rise to major environmental concerns because it develops more greenhouse gas emissions than plastic packaging and its improper discarding causes the loss of high-quality desired resources. The reuse and recycling of glass packaging reduces greenhouse gas emissions and the use of newly extracted resources sand and soda. To mitigate the environmental impacts of glass packaging, countries have set-up various collection and recycling systems, which are often organized and financed through extended producer responsibility schemes. The most common collection systems are deposit-refund systems (DRS), separate collection in drop-off containers and comingled collection with lightweight packaging waste. By the end of 2035 a minimum of 65 % of glass packaging waste must be prepared for re-use and/or recycled within the EU Member States and thus proper policies and solutions should be adopted to achieve this target. In this sense, the present study aims at verifying if deposit-refund systems and their different configurations affect glass packaging waste reduction and recycling/recovery. To achieve this aim, annual data regarding consumption and recycling/recovery of glass packaging for each European Economic Area/European Free Trade Association (EEA/EFTA) country were extracted over the time period 2010-2019. By using the selected European countries as units of analysis, a hybrid methodology was developed which includes the analysis of variance (ANOVA) and other descriptive statistics. Findings show that the different waste management systems affect neither the amount of glass packaging consumption nor the glass packaging recycling/recovery. In countries which adopt DRS, not more glass packaging per capita was retrieved than in countries which adopt other collection and management systems. In fact, it turns out to be a mechanism that allows for high quality glass packaging collection avoiding its ending up in landfills, but it does not influence consumption choices and the subsequent potential waste production. The adoption of DRS-based collections does not result necessarily in a successful management model for glass packaging. Since setting up additional drop-off collection points and recovering mechanically glass from municipal solid waste (MSW) does not result in glass qualities to be used in glass packaging, DRS represent still the sole progress towards a more circular economy.

Evaluating the implementation of a packaging Deposit and Refund System in Catalonia. Two surveys on citizenship's expected behaviour

Policies aiming to prevent environmental deterioration are gaining attention. To mitigate the detrimental effects of household waste in the form of packaging and single-use containers, diverse mechanisms to enhance recycling have been implemented in many countries. This paper studies citizenship perception and expected behaviour in the face of a potential implementation of a packaging Deposit and Refund System (DRS) in Catalonia. Based on previous qualitative research, it reports and analyses the results of two surveys: a telephone and an online survey, aimed at capturing citizens' evaluation and expected changes of behaviour under the proposed waste collection system. The evaluation of the DRS obtained in the two surveys is substantially different. The DRS features are more positively perceived in the telephone survey than in the online survey and willingness to adopt the system is also higher in the telephone survey. Factors contributing to these differential evaluations are the amount and form of the information provided by the two surveys. These results are indicative of substantial effects that the use of different means of assessment of waste collection mechanisms can have on their perceived and reported desirability by consumers. Our research contributes with a novel quantitative analysis of consumers' attitudes towards implementing a DRS and adds to the literature on factors that may cause the evaluation of waste management alternatives to generate different results. Findings are relevant for the analysis of waste collection alternatives and to develop improved communication campaigns to promote new schemes to mitigate the environmental impact of waste.

Opinion of the Hungarian Population on the Reform of Beverage Packaging Deposit-Refund System

The research subject is the deposit-refund system of beverage packaging (PET, glass and aluminium) in Hungary, which is under development. For the success of the planned system, it is important to consider the population’s opinion. Therefore, data from a primary questionnaire survey were used for the analyses. This questionnaire was conducted in 2020 and resulted in an evaluable sample of 20,430 people. The study aims to answer the following research questions (Q). Q1. Does the reform of the beverage packaging deposit-refund system in Hungary have a raison d’être? Q2. What are the demographic characteristics (gender, type of residence, qualification) of those who would redeem beverage packaging in their households if the state paid for it? Q3. Do the demographic characteristics and/or the environmental attitudes of individuals significantly influence their perceptions of the planned new system, and how strong is the relationship between them? As for the method for answering the research questions, descriptive statistics and relationship analyses (Cramer’s V and Kendall’s tau) were applied to the closed answers. The results show that the analysis of the primary research provides well-determined directions for legislators and decision makers who develop the detailed operating rules of the new system.

Linking LCA literature with circular economy value creation: A review on beverage packaging

The ever-increasing volume of packaging waste is widely recognised as a key global environmental challenge. Packaging is thus a central concern for advocates and analysts of circular economy (CEc), who often apply the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology when measuring the environmental impacts of products and packaging. We undertook a systematic literature review as a research method, and in-depth analysis to ascertain the extent to which the new CEc paradigm has been integrated in LCA methodology applied to beverage packaging and reported in scientific papers. Carefully developed search strings returned 866 articles relevant to our enquiry from the databases of SCOPUS and Web of Science. Applying our selected eligibility criteria, we extracted a subset of 51 articles for in-depth analysis. The analysed literature shows the links between the quality of packaging material for recycling and the profoundness of the LCA studies. The paper provides the following set of recommendations for enhancing the future practice in development of the scientific LCAs for beverage packaging: (i) taking all direct and indirect factors into account when assessing the refillable beverage packaging system and conducting break-even analysis in order to achieve impartial comparative assessments of single-use and refillable systems; (ii) developing proxies in cases when actual data is lacking with which to model the recycling scenarios for exported secondary materials and hence improving the accuracy of recycling rate assessments in LCA models; (iii) improving the definition of the LCA function by introducing multiple loops of the packaging material and assessing qualitative changes in the material resulting from the multiple-recycling process. Thus improved practice of LCAs could better inform and improve the design of new packaging strategies aimed at prolonging the life of packaging materials in the technosphere, equally fulfilling the principles of the CEc.

“Squaring the Circle”—The Disregarded Institutional Theory and the Distorted Practice of Packaging Waste Recycling in Romania

The European Union (EU) remains one of the leading-edge jurisdictions on the planet in legislating and enforcing the circular economy, a token of its forthright environmental awareness. Still, given that the level of economic development across the EU member states is heterogenous, this concern, however generous it may be, looks too beyond “their” means and too ahead of “its” times. What the European policymakers seem to disregard is that top-down institutional constructions, as is the case with the EU’s overambitious environmental legislation, can end up in severe distortions. Imposing/importing an institutionalized arrangement without due preparation may fuel resistance to (even positive) change, as the biases it engenders translate into considerable costs and selective benefits. The present article attempts a novel approach within the literature, where the failure to achieve recycling targets is usually considered the fault of private businesses. Instead, our study explains suboptimal environmental results by the institutionalization of spiraling governmental interventions in markets, meant to make the arbitrarily set recycling/reuse targets artificially viable. Subject to EU rules, Romania’s packaging waste recycling market is a textbook case in revealing this outcome predicted by economic theory, as our statistical data suggest. The conclusion is that it is equally perilous to neglect the calibration of legislative targets according to institutional and economic development as it is to reject environmental claims based on their costs.

Food waste management during the COVID-19 outbreak: a holistic climate, economic and nutritional approach

Improving the food supply chain efficiency has been identified as an essential means to enhance food security, while reducing pressure on natural resources. Adequate food loss and waste (FLW) management has been proposed as an approach to meet these objectives. The main hypothesis of this study is to consider that the "strong fluctuations and short-term changes" on eating habits may have major consequences on potential FLW generation and management, as well as on GHG emissions, all taking into account the nutritional and the economic cost. Due to the exceptional lockdown measures imposed by the Spanish government, as a consequence of the emerging coronavirus disease, COVID-19, food production and consumption systems have undergone significant changes, which must be properly studied in order to propose strategies from the lessons learned. Taking Spain as a case study, the methodological approach included a deep analysis of the inputs and outputs of the Spanish food basket, the supply chain by means of a Material Flow Analysis, as well as an economic and comprehensive nutritional assessment, all under a life cycle thinking approach. The results reveal that during the first weeks of the COVID-19 lockdown, there was no significant adjustment in overall FLW generation, but a partial reallocation from extra-domestic consumption to households occurred (12% increase in household FLW). Moreover, the economic impact (+11%), GHG emissions (+10%), and the nutritional content (-8%) complete the multivariable impact profile that the COVID-19 outbreak had on FLW generation and management. Accordingly, this study once again highlights that measures aimed at reducing FLW, particularly in the household sector, are critical to make better use of food surpluses and FLW prevention and control, allowing us to confront future unforeseen scenarios.

Life cycle assessment and leather production

Abstract

Leather industry is facing new trends on production and consumption patterns due to society concerns. Circular economy is proposing a transition from the current economic model to a more sustainable one, in which waste is designed out and resources will be reused and recycled as long as possible. In this transition, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is an important tool to help decision-making. In the present review, 39 English-written peer-reviewed papers related to LCA and leather have been found, 30 of which were published in the last 6 years, meaning LCA is nowadays an important subject. Papers are presented within 4 types, focused on: 1) the whole leather production process, 2) a single step in the production process (e.g, new technologies for unhairing), 3) waste treatment and recycling, and 4) life cycle thinking with ideas on long-term strategies for leather industries. As discussed in the literature review, leather industry has important challenges to address: increasing sustainability and transparency on the supply chain, and strengthening the beauty of leather. Taking up these challenges from a life cycle perspective will help leather industry flourish in the coming future.

Graphical abstract

Polylactic Acid/Polycaprolactone Blends: On the Path to Circular Economy, Substituting Single-Use Commodity Plastic Products

Circular economy comes to break the linear resource to waste economy, by introducing different strategies, two of them being: using material from renewable sources and producing biodegradable products. The present work aims at developing polylactic acid (PLA), typically made from fermented plant starch, and polycaprolactone (PCL) blends, a biodegradable polyester, to study their potential to be used as substitutes of oil-based commodity plastics. For this, PLA/PCL blends were compounded in a batch and lab scale internal mixer and processed by means of injection molding. Tensile and impact characteristics were determined and compared to different thermoplastic materials, such as polypropylene, high density polyethylene, polystyrene, and others. It has been found that the incorporation of PCL into a PLA matrix can lead to materials in the range of 18.25 to 63.13 megapascals of tensile strength, 0.56 to 3.82 gigapascals of Young’s modulus, 12.65 to 3.27 percent of strain at maximum strength, and 35 to 2 kJ/m² of notched impact strength. The evolution of the tensile strength fitted the Voigt and Reuss model, while Young’s modulus was successfully described by the rule of mixtures. Toughness of PLA was significantly improved with the incorporation of PCL, significantly increasing the energy required to fracture the specimens. Blends containing more than 20 wt% of PCL did not break when unnotched specimens were tested. Overall, it was found that the obtained PLA/PCL blends can constitute a strong and environmentally friendly alternative to oil-based commodity materials.