Embodied energy in beverage packaging

Abstract

Packaging used for beverages, such as soft drinks, juices, and beers, is widely consumed worldwide. The manufacture of this packaging involves energy consumption, even when made with recycled material. The sum of all energies required to produce the packaging is considered the incorporated or embodied energy. In this work, the embodied energy used to manufacture six common types of beverage packaging was analyzed. For this purpose, the average percentage of material recycling in Brazil and the United States of America (USA) was considered since the energy incorporated is quite different when recycling is used. A calculation methodology was developed to estimate the embodied energy in each type of packaging in Brazil and the USA. For a more appropriate comparison, the embodied energy per volume was calculated. Comparing the embodied energy per volume, aluminum packaging, when mostly recycled, is the packaging that has the lowest embodied energy per liter of beverage. This study highlights the importance of recycling to produce packaging with less embodied energy and opens perspectives for environmentally more favorable attitudes regarding the choice of beverage packaging materials.

Keywords: Aluminum; Embodied energy; Glass; Packaging; Polyethylene terephthalate; Recycling.