Comparative life cycle assessment of plastic jerry cans: A case study production in plastic workshop of Politeknik ATK Yogyakarta

Abstract

There have been various discussions concerning plastic items and their effects on the environment, with implications for business practices and public policies. However, making judgments without considering the trade-off circumstances between various plastic items may have a higher impact on other aspects of the life cycle. This study aimed to quantify the environmental impacts of various plastic jerry cans and choose which one to be used for student practice scenarios in Politeknik ATK Yogyakarta. Four different plastic jerry cans: polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) were assessed from gate to gate approach in a comparative life cycle assessment (LCA). This study was performed using OpenLCA 1.10.3 and free European reference Life Cycle Database (ELCD) 3.2 Greendelta v2.18. The result showed that for CML-IA baseline method, LDPE jerry cans production has a better environmental performance among other plastic jerry cans in all impact categories (acidification, eutrophication, freshwater aquatic ecotoxicity, global warming, and human toxicity). It can be concluded that the practical needs of students in studying the production of plastic jerry cans are advised to use raw materials from LDPE granulates. Global warming has the highest impact result compared to other impact categories for each type of plastic. There are some improvement strategies to minimize the environmental impact, such as reducing the distance of LDPE transport, optimizing student practicum activities and ensuring the machinery operates efficiently, and substituting fossil-based plastics with eco-friendly plastics.