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

Abstract

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.

Keywords: Beverage packaging; Circular economy; End-of-life; Life cycle assessment; Material quality; Recyclability.