Life Cycle Assessment and Environmental Impact of Polymeric Products

Life-cycle analysis is a technique used to quantify the environmental impact of products during their entire life cycle. The different parts of the life cycle are examined from raw material extraction, manufacture, transport and use through to waste processing. For each stage an inventory is made of the energy and material consumption and of any emissions to the environment. This makes it possible to identify components where improvement can be made to benefit the environment. This type of investigation of products may bring economic advantages, as often material and energy consumption are reduced. Environmentally friendly products also have a marketing advantage, as consumers are becoming increasingly aware of ‘green’ issues. In addition, legislation is being introduced across the world to enforce environmentally friendly practices. The concept of product responsibility is commonplace and manufacturers and end-users must now consider the cradle to grave pathway of each product. There are many different types of environmental impact. For example, plastics are generally produced from fossil fuels, which are gradually becoming depleted. The production process itself involves energy consumption and further resource depletion. During production emissions may occur to water, air or soil. Emissions of concern include heavy metals, chlorofluorocarbons, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds, sulfur oxides and dust. These emissions have effects such as ozone depletion, carcinogenicity, smog, acid rain, etc. Thus production of a plastic product can have adverse effects on ecosystems, human health and the physical environment. This review describes the process of life cycle analysis in some detail. It describes the different organisations involved in researching and applying these techniques and the database resources being used to generate comparative reports. Many companies and organisations are now undertaking life cycle analysis of new and