Abstract
Increasing material circularity is high on the agenda of the European Union in order to decouple environmental impacts and economic growth. While life cycle assessment (LCA) is useful for quantifying the associated environmental impacts, consistent LCA modeling of the large-scale changes arising from policy targets addressing material circularity (i.e., recycled content and recycling rate) is challenging. In response to this, we propose an assessment framework addressing key steps in LCA, namely, goal definition, functional unit, baseline versus alternative scenario definition, and modeling of system responses. Regulatory and economic aspects (e.g., trends in consumption patterns, market responses, market saturation, and legislative side-policies affecting waste management) are emphasized as critical for the identification of potential system responses and for supporting regulatory interventions required to reach the intended environmental benefits. The framework is recommended for LCA studies focusing on system-wide consequences where allocation between product life cycles is not relevant; however, the framework can be adapted to include allocation. The application of the framework was illustrated by an example of implementing a policy target for 2025 of 70% recycled content in PET trays in EU27+1. It was demonstrated that neglecting large-scale market responses and saturation lead to an overestimation of the environmental benefits from the policy target and that supplementary initiatives are required to achieve the full benefits at system level.
Highlights
Growing awareness of the environmental impacts caused by anthropogenic activities has encouraged decision-makers to factor in environmental implications along with socio-economic aspects when deciding new policies
The goal “To quantify the environmental impacts of increasing the recycled content of PET bottles in the EU27+1 from the expected 11% to 25% by 2025” would require allocation, because this goal does not include the reaction of the waste management system providing the secondary material
This paper describes a methodological framework for the definition and modeling of large-scale consequential life cycle assessments aiming at quantifying potential environmental impacts of policy targets focusing on increasing material circularity
Summary
Growing awareness of the environmental impacts caused by anthropogenic activities has encouraged decision-makers to factor in environmental implications along with socio-economic aspects when deciding new policies. The goal “To quantify the environmental impacts of increasing the recycled content of PET bottles in the EU27+1 from the expected 11% to 25% by 2025” would require allocation, because this goal does not include the reaction of the waste management system providing the secondary material (e.g., increasing in source-separation, increasing of recycling, simple diversion from other products that were before using the secondary material). A mix of expertise on systems, technology development forecasting, market forecasting, technology cost modeling, and macro-economic models can provide a basis for estimating large-scale impacts on background processes
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