1. Implementation of Life Cycle Based Tools in the Circular Economy Context—Case Study of Plastic Waste
- Author
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Anna Lewandowska, Dawid Garstecki, Katarzyna Joachimiak-Lechman, and Marcin Konopczyński
- Subjects
Environmental effects of industries and plants ,Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment ,media_common.quotation_subject ,Circular economy ,Geography, Planning and Development ,circular economy ,TJ807-830 ,Context (language use) ,Energy consumption ,Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law ,Raw material ,Environmental economics ,TD194-195 ,life cycle costing ,Renewable energy sources ,Environmental sciences ,life cycle assessment ,Environmental science ,Production (economics) ,Environmental impact assessment ,Quality (business) ,GE1-350 ,Life-cycle assessment ,circular footprint formula ,media_common - Abstract
This article describes research done within the CIRCE2020 project, implemented under the INTERREG CENTRAL EUROPE 2014&ndash, 2020 Programme. The main aim is to present the results of a life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle costing (LCC) carried out for a recycling plant in Wielkopolska. From the LCA perspective, the analyzed recycling plant performs two functions, therefore, two research approaches were adopted: from the final waste management perspective (Approach 1) and from the production of secondary products (Approach 2). From the first perspective, the total environmental impact for the reference flow (215.140 kg of multi-material waste) was 552.32 Pt. When focused on the second perspective, the environmental impact for the production of plastic boards (3.073 boards) reached 659.58 Pt. The difference in the obtained values results from the fact that the second analysis, besides waste processing, included additionally the generation of raw materials corrected by the quality factor. The total production cost of boards made of multi-material waste was PLN 165,957.23. Energy consumption is the main cost-generating element of production and also the most important environmental hot spot. To increase environmental efficiency and reduce costs, the use of technology allowing for the reduction of energy demand should be considered first.
- Published
- 2020
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