Tackling the relevance of packaging in life cycle assessment of virgin olive oil and the environmental consequences of regulation

Production and consumption of olive oil is very important in Europe, being this product a basic element in the Mediterranean diet since long ago. The project objective is two-fold: a study of the contribution of virgin olive oils (VOOs) usual packaging to the whole life cycle of the product and a study of the environmental consequences of the Spanish Government regulation on VOO packaging. A life cycle assessment (LCA) according to ISO 14044 has been performed using the CML methodology for the impact assessment. The results show that the packaging influence varies from 2 to 300%, depending on the impact category and type of packaging (glass, tin or polyethylene terephtalate). Glass, which is related to higher quality perception by consumers, was found to be the most influencing material (due to its weight); however, this impact may be fairly reduced by applying ecodesign strategies (such as weight reduction and recycled-glass percentage increase). A new Spanish regulation on the mandatory use of non-refillable oilers in HORECA establishments (hotels, restaurants and caterings) aims to provide more quality assurance and better information to consumers; however, it was also found to mean a 74% increase in greenhouse gases emissions. This regulation was deeply discussed at European level and its application was withdraw due to consumers rejection, except for Spain. The findings of the present case study show that LCA and ecodesign should be important tools to be promoted and applied in policy making to reduce non-desirable consequences of regulation

Life cycle assessment of PE and PP multi film compared with PLA and PLA reinforced with nanoclays film

Plastic has become essential for our economy and the packaging industry. However, plastic use is linked to environmental problems such as waste generation and loss of resources, since only 42% of the plastic used for packaging purposes is recycled. Another problem associated with the use of plastic materials is caused by their abandonment in the environment since they are non-degradable polymers. This paper analyses the environmental performance of using biodegradable poly-lactic acid bags, pure (PLA) and reinforced with nanoclays (PLA + NC), in comparison to conventional alternatives made of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) for being used to pack fresh bakery products. The results reveal that for Climate Change and Fossil Resources use, PLA + NC performs better than the alternatives. In the case of Climate Change, it has 45% less impact than low density polyethylene (LDPE), 39% less than PP, and 2% less than PLA. However, the use of PLA + NC, results in higher impacts on Land Use and Water Use, because this is produced from crops. Compared with PLA, PLA + NC has 5% less impact on these impact categories, but between 99 and 100% more impact on Land Use and between 79 and 81% more impact on Water use than PP and LDPE. Thus, poly-lactic acid bags reinforced with nanoclays are shown as an alternative for fossil-based polymers (PE and PP) for certainty type of applications when we focus on Climate Change and Fossil resources use reduction. In this sense, the results also reveal that the most environmentally friendly end-of-life for PLA and PLA + NC is incineration instead of composting.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Towards sustainable dietary patterns under a water-energy-food nexus life cycle thinking approach

The big challenge of the next decades is meeting the global nutritional demand, while reducing the pressure on food resources and the GHG emissions. In this regard, the overall goal consists of redesigning the food systems and promoting sustainable dietary patterns is a crucial aspect. This article focuses on reviewing the state-of-the-art of the combined Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and the Water-Energy-Food (WEF) Nexus approach in assessing the effects of diet transitions. Diet LCAs differ in methodology, design, and assessed environmental impacts. The WEF nexus, which aims at finding synergies and trade-offs between the water, energy, and food resources systems, has been applied to different contexts and levels. However, a limited number of nexus methods have been developed at the food and diet levels, and no commonly recognizable methodology for the nexus assessment has been achieved. An integrated LCA and WEF Nexus approach can be a decisive tool to improve the understanding of the interconnections in the nexus, as it enables the consideration of entire supply chains.This study is part of the Ceres-Procon Project: Food production and consumption strategies for climate change mitigation (CTM2016-76176-C2-2-R) (AEI/FEDER, UE), financed by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, which aims to determine strategies to improve the sustainability of current food production and consumption

Using Life Cycle Thinking and Assessment for industrial waste management policy making

Postprint (published version

Nanoclay effect into the biodegradation and processability of poly(lactic acid) nanocomposites for food packaging

One of the most promising expectations in the design of new materials for food packaging is focused on the development of biodegradable systems with improved barrier character. In this sense PLA reinforced with nanoclay is a potential alternative to the use of conventional oil-derivative polymers due to the synergetic effect of the biodegradable character of PLA and the barrier-induced effect derived from the dispersion of nanoparticles. In this work, composite materials based on PLA and reinforced with bentonite nanoparticles (up to 4% w/w) (NC) have been prepared to produce films with improved barrier character against water vapor transportation. Additionally, the biodegradable character of the composites depending on the crystallinity of the polymer and percentage of NC have been evaluated in the presence of an enzymatic active medium (proteinase K). Finally, a study of the capacity to film production of the composites has been performed to determine the viability of the proposals. The dispersion of the nanoparticles induced a tortuous pathway of water vapor crossing, reducing this diffusion by more than 22%. Moreover, the nanoclays materials were in all the cases acceptable for food packing in terms of migration. A migration lower than 1 mg/m2 was obtained in all the materials. Nonetheless, the presence of the nanoclays in decreased biodegradable capacity was observed. The time was enlarged to more than 15 days for the maximum content (4% w/w). On the other hand, the incorporation of NC does not avoid the processability of the material to obtain film-shaped processed materials.Postprint (published version

Best available techniques in municipal solid waste incineration: state of the art in Spain and Portugal

In the year 2010 more than 24 Mt and 5 Mt of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) were generated in Spain and Portugal. Landfilling, incineration and recycling are the most common treatments. In 2010, in the Iberian Peninsula between 58-6 2 % of the MSW generated was sent to the landfill, 9-19 % was incinerated and the rest was recycled and composting (EUROSTAT, 2010). Despite landfilling is still the most common practice, waste treatment by means of an incineration process has increased. The main advantages of this type of waste treatment are the reduction of mass and volume of residues and the energy recovery. Nevertheless, incineration had gained a bad reputation owing to the environmental impact, in particular, due to the emissions of acid gases, dioxins and furans (PCDD/F) and greenhouse gases. To assess the environmental advantages and disadvantages as well as the potential environmental impacts of waste incineration a life cycle perspective is required. Within this framework is the development of FENIX-Giving Packaging a New Life, a 3-year European LIFE+ funded project. This work is just the first step within this project where a database and a model based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to assess the environmental impacts of waste incineration in Spain and Portugal will be developed. Particularly, the aim of this paper is to review the different technologies applied to MSW solid waste incineration and to carry out both the diagnosis of the current situation at the incineration plants in Spain and Portugal and to collect data to develop the Life Cycle Inventory (LCI)

Carbon Footprint: the case of four chicken meat products sold on the Spanish market

Despite its relatively low environmental impact within the livestock sector, the poultry sector still faces its own environmental challenges that need to be addressed. The present paper uses life cycle assessment to quantify greenhouse gas emissions, from cradle to slaughterhouse gate, of four chicken meat products: whole carcass, wings, breast fillets, and leg quarters. The main contribution of the present study is that it provides a detailed analysis of different chicken meat cuts, testing mass and economic allocation choices and showing that economic allocation better reflects the causality of the cutting process. We recommend that a distinction should be made between whole carcass and meat cuts, as there are significant differences in meat content and climate change results between these two categories. This is not so clear in the literature, nor in the LEAP guideline for the poultry sector. The study was performed by using disaggregated inventory data from Spain, for the first time. Results show that the major contributors to environmental impact are feed production (>70%), electricity use (10.2%), and fossil fuel combustion (8.1%). Packaging did not significantly contribute to the climate change impact of the chicken products evaluated (0.4-3.4% contribution, depending on the type of packaging and product considered).The authors wish to acknowledge the financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation to the project KAIROS-BIOCIR (PID2019-104925RB-C32). The first author also appreciates the support (2021FI_B 00100) from the Secretariat for Universities and Research of the Ministry of Business and Knowledge of the Government of Catalonia and the European Social Fund. Finally, the authors are grateful to Grupo SADA p.a., S.A for their support in this stud

The Spanish Dietary Guidelines: A potential tool to reduce greenhouse gas emissions of current dietary patterns

This study assesses the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions and the nutritional quality of the current food consumption and losses of an average Spanish citizen, and compares them with two alternative diets: one following the Spanish dietary guidelines (The NAOS Strategy; NAOS), and another one based on the Mediterranean (MED) diet. The diet-related GHG emissions of current eating patterns would be reduced by 17% and 11%, when shifting to the NAOS and MED diets, respectively, and even more (42% and 35%) when diets' nutritional qualities are considered within the functional unit. In addition, food losses contribute 21% to diet's emissions. Our results suggest that national dietary guidelines (NDGs) can be a good policy tool, not only to lead to a healthier condition, but also to promote a shift towards a lower-carbon diets. Finally, it is recommended that life cycle-based indicators are added within the NDGs, to better communicate the environmental impacts of dietary choices, and ultimately enhance knowledge and awareness of consumers.This research study is carried out as part of the Ceres-Procon Project: Food production and consumption strategies for climate change mitigation (CTM2016-76176-C2-1-R) (AEI/FEDER, UE), financed by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, which aims to determine strategies to improve the sustainability of current food production and consumption

Carbon footprint: the case of four chicken meat products sold on the Spanish market

Despite its relatively low environmental impact within the livestock sector, the poultry sector still faces its own environmental challenges that need to be addressed. The present paper uses life cycle assessment to quantify greenhouse gas emissions, from cradle to slaughterhouse gate, of four chicken meat products: whole carcass, wings, breast fillets, and leg quarters. The main contribution of the present study is that it provides a detailed analysis of different chicken meat cuts, testing mass and economic allocation choices and showing that economic allocation better reflects the causality of the cutting process. We recommend that a distinction should be made between whole carcass and meat cuts, as there are significant differences in meat content and climate change results between these two categories. This is not so clear in the literature, nor in the LEAP guideline for the poultry sector. The study was performed by using disaggregated inventory data from Spain, for the first time. Results show that the major contributors to environmental impact are feed production (>70%), electricity use (10.2%), and fossil fuel combustion (8.1%). Packaging did not significantly contribute to the climate change impact of the chicken products evaluated (0.4-3.4% contribution, depending on the type of packaging and product considered).The authors wish to acknowledge the financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation to the project KAIROS-BIOCIR (PID2019-104925RB-C32). The first author also appreciates the support (2021FI_B 00100) from the Secretariat for Universities and Research of the Ministry of Business and Knowledge of the Government of Catalonia and the European Social Fund. Finally, the authors are grateful to Grupo SADA p.a., S.A for their support in this study

Introducing life cycle thinking to define best available techniques for products: Application to the anchovy canning industry

This study presents a method based on life cycle assessment to reduce and simplify the decision-making process and to identify the best available techniques of a product. This procedure facilitates the selection of a technical alternative from an environmental point of view and the reduction of emission levels and the consumption of energy and primary resources. This method comprises the following four steps: (i) the identification of the current techniques of a specific product, (ii) the application of a life cycle assessment to determine the hot spots, (iii) the proposal of the best available techniques and (iv) the development of a best available techniques reference document (step not implemented in our case study). The Cantabrian anchovy canning industry is selected as a case study due to the importance of this sector from economic, social and touristic points of view. An entire life cycle assessment of one can of anchovies in extra virgin olive oil is conducted. The results indicated that the hot spots of the life cycle were the production of aluminium cans (for packaging) and extra virgin olive oil and the management of the packaging waste. According to these results, the study proposes several improvements, such as packaging recycling and several best available techniques for the canned anchovy product.The authors thank the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness of the Spanish Government for their financial support via the project GeSAC-Conserva: Sustainable Management of the Cantabrian Anchovies (CTM2013-43539-R) and to Julia Celaya for her technical support. Jara Laso thanks the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness of Spanish Government for their financial support via the research fellowship BES2014-069368. Pere Fullana y Alba Bala thanks the UNESCO Chair in Life Cycle and Climate Change