Influence of recycling rate increase of aseptic carton for long-life milk on GWP reduction
| Autor: | Eloísa E. C. Garcia, Fernando von Zuben, Anna Lúcia Mourad, Gustavo Braz Vilela |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2008 |
| Předmět: |
Economics and Econometrics
business.product_category Waste management Aluminium recycling cardboard Carton chemistry.chemical_compound chemistry Greenhouse gas visual_art Carbon dioxide visual_art.visual_art_medium Environmental science Aseptic processing business Waste Management and Disposal Life-cycle assessment Ultra-high-temperature processing |
| Zdroj: | Resources, Conservation and Recycling. 52:678-689 |
| ISSN: | 0921-3449 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.resconrec.2007.09.001 |
| Popis: | Tetra Pak, through intensive cooperation with its supply chain, increased the post-consumer recycling rate of the aseptic packaging for long-life milk in the last 10 years. In continuation of a previous study that presented a superior overall performance in terms of reduction of the consumption of natural resources, air emissions and most of the water emissions, the objective of the present work was to apply life cycle assessment (LCA) to measure the global warming potential (GWP). The system was assessed using as functional unit 1000 liters of milk packaged in Tetra Pak Aseptic containers. The reduction of greenhouse gas emissions was calculated for recycling rates of 2%, 22%, 30%, 40% and 70% of the post-consumer residues in Scenarios I (only cardboard recycling) and II (total aseptic laminate recycling). Scenario I showed a 14% reduction in GWP, representing 26 kg of avoided CO 2 equiv. emitted due to the efforts of Tetra Pak to increase the recycling rate from 2% (2000) to 22% (2004). If it will be possible to increase the recycling rate to 70% of post-consumer packages in the future, a 48% reduction of GWP could be attained. Methane exhibited the greatest mass reduction among the greenhouse emissions, since it is emitted during the production of cardboard and also as a result of anaerobic degradation in landfills. The total reduction of the energy requirements of the system due to the increase of the recycling rate (from 2% to 22%) is 154 MJ/1000 liters, a saving of 7%. Scenario II (which considers additional polyethylene and aluminum recycling) has a smaller effect on GWP reduction than Scenario I, since PE/AL represent only 25% of the total mass of the container. The major benefit of the recycling of aseptic cartons is the reduction of the amounts of virgin materials required and the consequent reduction of air emissions. The results of this study can be used to encourage the collection of post-consumer milk cartons as part of environmental education programs. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
|
Full Text from ScienceDirect