Product

Life cycle analysis for Cheer Pack

This LCA (Life Cycle Analysis) study has been made with the objective to analyse the environmental impact of Cheer Pack, the flexible container produced by GualaPack in comparison with other types of primary packaging, used for both food and non-food applications like glass containers, PET bottles, aluminum cans and bricks.

LCA is a instrument that offers a complete picture of the environmental impact of packaging as it refers to entire lifecycle of the pack itself, considering the energy used, the amount of solid waste and the pollution of air and water from raw materials up to the manufacturing process and finally to its disposal.

Each pack is analyzed according to environmental indexes that are:

1. Material consumption - refers to the weight of each component used
2. Total energy consumption
3. Air pollution index - refers to total volume of air expressed as critical volume*
4. Water pollution - refers to the total volume of water expressed as critical volume of solid waste to landfill

Cheer Pack analyzed by this study are of two types: PET/ALU/PET/PE for food products and PET/PE for non food products.

The comparison of Cheer Pack with commercial packaging has been made using the same volume for each packaging, assuming that all the materials are virgin with the exception of glass and steel, and that, after their use, all the packs are collected and recycled.

Under the same conditions of volume and content, the environmental impact of Cheer Pack turns out to be minor than the other comparing packs like glass, PET, aluminum and paper brick.

On comparing Cheer Pack with PET/ALU/PET/PE film structure with an aluminum can of same size, the environmental impact results really minor for Cheer Pack despite the two packs are very closed in weight. It is noticed that production of solid waste is reduced by 18% and the other indexes like energy consumption, water and air pollution are ranging from 11 and 21% of the corresponding aluminum container.

The comparison between the PET Bottle and Cheer Pack indicates also a minor environmental impact of the latter: all the environmental indexes of Cheer Pack are showing inferior values ranging from 53 to 86%. A similar situation is found in respect of the brick container, where values of Cheer Pack environmental indexes are reduced from 31% till 78%.

The parallel analysis of a glass bottle and Cheer Pack shows in the complex good values for Cheer Pack as to reduction of materials, energy consumption, air pollution and solid waste production, with values that are from 8 to 41% of the corresponding glass. Water pollution index is higher of 134% in respect of glass.

In the non food sector, the comparison refers to Cheer Pack PET/PE film structure and HDPE bottles of same volume. In both of the cases studied, Cheer Pack environmental indexes are showing lower values for Cheer Pack with indexes which are from 30 to 45% inferior to HDPE bottles.

This study has been carried out using the software “Greenpack” property of the Istituto Italiano dell’Imballaggio and using data and criteria stated in “Ökobilanz von packstoffen 1990” written by K. Habersatter of the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) in Zurich.

The above study has been published as Report no. 132 from BUWAL, (Bundesamt für Umwelt, Wald und Landschaft ) in Bern, Switzerland.

Read full report here.

Dr M. Pieroni.

* Critical volume: it is the volume of air or water necessary to contain pollutants
products according to the maximum concentration limits as to quality standards for air and water defined in the Buwal study.