Application of Life Cycle Assessment for More Sustainable Plastic Packaging - Challenges and Opportunities

The European plastics industry is in transition to meet its 2050 net zero and circularity targets. In 2020, the overall European recycling rate for post-consumer plastics packaging reached 46%. The European Union set a target for recycling 50% of plastic packaging by 2025 and 55% by 2030. These targets can only be achieved by increasing the use of recycled materials in packaging. Therefore, it is required to design new plastic packaging products, production processes and recycling processes with a focus on easy recyclability and reduced environmental footprint. This publication points out possible benefits, opportunities and challenges of using the well-known Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology for plastic packaging products. First steps towards the development of reduced LCA-based models, which can be used to support the development of plastic packaging products, are presented. One example is a generic recycling process model, which can be used for different packaging materials and provides the basis for further analysis. Another example is the development of an assessment template for current plastic recycling processes. The publication concludes with the identification of open research questions.