In its position paper "Challenges and requirements in comparative life cycle assessment of plastics recycling", the Fraunhofer CCPE has identified ten challenges and requirements to improve comparability and transparency in the ecological assessment of plastics recycling.
Life cycle assessments evaluate products and services over their entire life cycle and compare recycling processes and recycled plastics with virgin materials. The functional unit, to which all environmental impacts are related, plays a central role. However, plastics recycling fulfills several functions, such as waste treatment and material provision, which makes life cycle assessment complex and has so far been discussed without consensus.
The Fraunhofer researchers emphasize the need for an open exchange between science, industry and politics in order to enable well-founded ecological decisions. They point out that comparative life cycle assessments depend on various boundary conditions and assumptions. Inconsistent assumptions can lead to misinterpretations. Challenges also exist in the handling of different technology routes and scales as well as the complexity of recycling processes for mixed waste. Different waste origins and contaminants influence the quality of the recyclates and must be taken into account.
It is methodologically important to improve modeling approaches with regard to multifunctionality and system boundaries. It is difficult to compare recycling processes and virgin material with recycled material as they have different functions. Overall, there is still a lack of methodological consensus for robust and comparable life cycle assessment results.
Further Documents of the Fraunhofer CCPE:
