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Plastic Packaging Waste Management in Iceland : Challenges and Opportunities from a Life Cycle Assessment Perspective

Plastic Packaging Waste Management in Iceland : Challenges and Opportunities from a Life Cycle Assessment Perspective


Title: Plastic Packaging Waste Management in Iceland : Challenges and Opportunities from a Life Cycle Assessment Perspective
Author: Ögmundarson, Ólafur   orcid.org/0000-0003-3171-2388
Kalweit, Laura Sophie
Venkatachalam, Venkateshwaran
Kristjánsdóttir, Rakel
Endres, Hans Josef
Spierling, Sebastian
Date: 2022-12
Language: English
Scope: 8991407
Department: Faculty of Food Science and Nutrition
Series: Sustainability (Switzerland); 14(24)
ISSN: 2071-1050
DOI: 10.3390/su142416837
Subject: end-of-life; Iceland; life cycle assessment; plastic packaging; plastic waste management; Computer Science (miscellaneous); Geography, Planning and Development; Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment; Building and Construction; Environmental Science (miscellaneous); Energy Engineering and Power Technology; Hardware and Architecture; Computer Networks and Communications; Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law
URI: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11815/4400

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Citation:

Ögmundarson , Ó , Kalweit , L S , Venkatachalam , V , Kristjánsdóttir , R , Endres , H J & Spierling , S 2022 , ' Plastic Packaging Waste Management in Iceland : Challenges and Opportunities from a Life Cycle Assessment Perspective ' , Sustainability (Switzerland) , vol. 14 , no. 24 , 16837 . https://doi.org/10.3390/su142416837

Abstract:

The management of plastic packaging waste is advancing quickly, and new strategies are being implemented worldwide for better resource recovery. To assess the environmental benefits of new ways of handling plastic packaging waste, we need to first evaluate current waste management options in order to create a basis for comparison. In this study, the environmental impacts of plastic packaging waste handling are assessed for the first time in Iceland using the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. The results show that mechanical recycling, despite including the impacts of exporting the waste to different European countries, has more environmental benefits than landfilling the waste in Iceland. Increasing the recycling rates of plastic waste in Iceland is also identified as a promising option from a resource efficiency perspective. With better waste sorting, Iceland can become more environmentally sustainable, ensuring that plastic materials land in recycling processes, and thereby enhancing the flow of material in the circular economy.

Description:

Funding Information: This research received funding from The University of Iceland Research Fund and Matvælasjóður (Food development fund) for the project UMMAT (2021–2022). Publisher Copyright: © 2022 by the authors.

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