LCA of peat cup and plastic cup
Notes to Reader
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Literature Review
[edit | edit source]Life cycle assessment of peat for growing media and evaluation of the suitability of using the Product Environmental Footprint methodology for peat[1]
[edit | edit source]- Product environmental footprint approach of white and black peat used in growing media
- location: EU
- Climate change increased from 26 kg CO2eq per m3 processed white peat to 51 kg CO2eq per m3 processed black peat
- The use of peat causes substantially higher GHG than the previous life cycle stages combined; white peat causes approximately 183 kg CO2eq per m3 and black peat 257 kg CO2eq per m3.
- background data from the ILCD-database, ecoinvent 3.8
- Fuel consumption data for white and black peat are collected from peat producers in Germany.
Peat production for horticultural use in the Latvian context: sustainability assessment through LCA modeling[2]
[edit | edit source]- See the LCI
Assessment of the environmental break-even point for deposit return systems through an LCA analysis of single-use and reusable cups[3]
[edit | edit source]- Functional unit : The chosen functional unit was serving 0.4 liters/ 13.5oz of draught beverages in one go
- weight per cup: 9g
- The production of the plastic cups was modeled using the thermoforming and injection moulding processes
- a distance of 100 km was assumed for the transport of raw materials to the production site of the cups
- a distance of 1000 km between cup producer and place of use was considered
Cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment of single-use cups made from PLA, PP and PET[4]
[edit | edit source]- For single-use cups, most studies consider PET, PP and PS
- FU: 1000 cups
- PP density: 0.86 g/cm3
- Observed weights of single-use cups available in the market: 2.9–3.5 kg/ 1000 cup
- cup manufacturing process: thermoforming of polymer granulates into the final product cups
- the petrochemical PP and PET data are usually retrieved from either PlasticsEurope’s EcoProfiles[5]
- 1.65kg Co2/kg of PP
- polymer : 6.81 kg co2/ FU; transport of polymer: 2.14E-01; Thermoforming: 3.14E+00 Distribution of cups: 7.88E-01 EOL: 3.55E+00
Comparative life cycle GHG emissions of single-use plastic cups and reusable cups for beverages[6]
[edit | edit source]- reuseable LCI[7][8][9]
- Reusable plastic cups were considered to be made from polypropylene (PP) and then subjected to the injection molding process
- It was assumed that reusable plastic cups would be washed in a dishwasher every time after their use. For dishwashing, water consumption, detergent use and energy demand were allocated to reusable plastic cups on the assumption that the capacity of the industrial washing machine would be about 40 dishes/one cycle
- it was assumed that 1 L of water and 2 mL of detergent were consumed per cup during a single handwashing cycle in households
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ Stichnothe, H., 2022. Life cycle assessment of peat for growing media and evaluation of the suitability of using the Product Environmental Footprint methodology for peat. Int J Life Cycle Assess 27, 1270–1282. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11367-022-02106-0
- ↑ Paoli, R., Feofilovs, M., Kamenders, A., Romagnoli, F., 2022. Peat production for horticultural use in the Latvian context: sustainability assessment through LCA modeling. Journal of Cleaner Production 378, 134559. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.134559
- ↑ Cottafava, D., Costamagna, M., Baricco, M., Corazza, L., Miceli, D., Riccardo, L.E., 2021. Assessment of the environmental break-even point for deposit return systems through an LCA analysis of single-use and reusable cups. Sustainable Production and Consumption 27, 228–241. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2020.11.002
- ↑ Moretti, C., Hamelin, L., Jakobsen, L.G., Junginger, M.H., Steingrimsdottir, M.M., Høibye, L., Shen, L., 2021. Cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment of single-use cups made from PLA, PP and PET. Resources, Conservation and Recycling 169, 105508. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2021.105508
- ↑ PlasticsEurope, 2011. Eco-profiles set • Plastics Europe [WWW Document]. Plastics Europe. URL https://plasticseurope.org/sustainability/circularity/life-cycle-thinking/eco-profiles-set/ (accessed 6.30.25).
- ↑ Lee C, Lee H, Jang Y-C, Choi K. Comparative life cycle GHG emissions of single-use plastic cups and reusable cups for beverages. Environmental Engineering Research 2025;30. https://doi.org/10.4491/eer.2024.722.
- ↑ De Sadeleer I, Lyng K-A. A Life Cycle Assessment on Single-Use and Reuse Beer Cups at Festivals. CircEconSust 2022;2:1517–39. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43615-022-00164-y.
- ↑ Cottafava D, Costamagna M, Baricco M, Corazza L, Miceli D, Riccardo LE. Assessment of the environmental break-even point for deposit return systems through an LCA analysis of single-use and reusable cups. Sustainable Production and Consumption 2021;27:228–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2020.11.002.
- ↑ De Sadeleer I, Lyng K-A. A Life Cycle Assessment on Single-Use and Reuse Beer Cups at Festivals. CircEconSust 2022;2:1517–39. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43615-022-00164-y.
| Authors | Riya Roy |
|---|---|
| License | CC-BY-SA-4.0 |
| Cite as | Riya Roy (2025). "LCA of peat cup and plastic cup". Appropedia. Retrieved May 30, 2026. |