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| Environmental impacts from milk plastic package and waste treatments of entire life cycle |
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Abstract Life cycle assessment (LCA) approach was used to examine the environmental impacts in the life cycle of plastic package for milk, and to compare the environmental impacts from different plastic package waste treatments. The data for the mass, energy fluxes and environmental emissions were obtained from site investigations and from published literature. It shows that the environmental impact of raw material extraction was the highest, over 90% of total environmental impacts, in its life cycle. In comparison with that the environmental impacts mainly come from fossil fuels consumption, climate change and damage to respiratory effects from inorganic substances categories. The contribution of carcinogens, acidification/eutrophication and ecotoxicity categories was less. The environmental impact from plastic package waste was highest in landfill treatment followed by incineration and recycle. Landfill and incineration could append 16.1% and 5.3% of additional environmental impact respectively, compared to that before plastic package come into waste stream. In contrast, recycle could reduce 75.9% of environmental impact more significantly.
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Received: 24 February 2011
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