Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Plastics News
  • Plastics News China
SustainablePlasticsFINAL
Subscribe
  • Login
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • News
    • Recycling
    • Sustainability
    • Bioplastics
    • Technology & Materials
    • Plastic pallet recycling scheme celebrates second anniversary
      Milliken expands presence in recycling markets with Zebra-chem deal
      ExxonMobil joins Agilyx feedstock partnership
      Lidl
      PreZero pushing forward towards a circular value chain
    • Value chain collaboration yields new circular packaging solution
      Circa Group successfully completes NOK 575 million private placement
      Arburg publishes its first Sustainability Report online
      Wikipedia Foam Takeout-main_i.jpg
      Virginia lawmakers reach 'great polystyrene compromise,' pass EPS ban, chemical recycling law
    • Assets Bio-on S.p.A. up for auction
      Bio-Fed and Febo S.p.A. expand distribution agreement
      RenCom launches production of new lignin-based biomaterial
      SP Group, Nurel Biopolymers develop food-contact approved compostable barrier film structures
    • Injection Moulding
    • Blow Moulding
    • Extrusion
    • Thermoforming
    • 3D printing
    • Technology
    • Materials
    • Machinery
  • Opinion
    • View Point
    • PHA: As green as it gets
      Opinion: The future of sustainable plastic
      A year to remember
      Opinion: California introduces world’s toughest plastic bottle recycling legislature – will other markets follow?
  • Events
    • Our Exhibitions
    • Plastics Industry Awards (PIA)
    • Ask the Expert
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Reifenhäuser Technologies Livestreams
    • Plastics News Europe Live Archives
    • Plastics Recycling Show Europe
  • Prices & Resources
    • Polymer Prices
    • Data Reports
    • White Papers
  • Contact
    • Advertise
    • Media Pack
  • Subscribe
  • Digital magazine
    • Digital Magazine
  • Multimedia
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
January 12, 2021 01:03 PM

Huhtamaki welcomes LCA results on environmental impact of single-use packaging

Karen Laird
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print
    Huhtamaki

    Disposable serviceware offers key environmental advantages over reusable at quick service restaurants

    According to a recently published comprehensive Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study from Ramboll, a leading global engineering, design and consultancy company and certified by TÜV, one of the world’s leading testing service providers, reusable serviceware is not necessarily the most sustainable choice for in-store dining at Quick Service Restaurants. The outcome was one that was welcome to Finnish sustainable packaging provider, Huhtamaki, whose many products include single-use packaging and serviceware that is both home compostable and made of renewable materials.

    The study, in which paper-based single-use products were compared to reusable tableware in an in-store dining setting, found that the former provided significant key environmental advantages over the latter for Quick Service Restaurants in Europe. The full environmental impact was scientifically measured for both applications across multiple criteria and scenarios.

    According to the results of this study, the polypropylene-based multi-use system was responsible for generating 2.7 times more CO2-e emissions than the paper-based single-use system. The single main contributor to climate change impact in the multi-use baseline scenario was the electricity consumed during the washing process. Overall, the use phase accounted for 83% of the total aggregated impact. In addition, the multi-use system used 3.6 times the amount of freshwater in the baseline scenario. Climate impact and freshwater consumption are considered the two most critical environmental impact categories today.

    “The environmental impact of energy and water required for washing in a multi-use system demonstrates that reusable packaging is not the solution for the foodservice industry,” said Charles Héaulmé, President and CEO of Huhtamaki.

    “Ramboll’s LCA provides scientific evidence which policymakers must welcome as they aim to develop regulation that is good for the planet and has no unintended consequences.“

    Huhtamaki recognises that there are still gaps in the circularity of packaging that need to be addressed, and continues to work on the development of sustainable packaging solutions in line with its 2030 Strategy, which calls for the company to achieve carbon neutral production and for all its products to be recyclable, compostable or reusable by 2030.

    “We believe that investments in waste management infrastructure are needed to further increase the recycling rates of paper-based packaging, which will further reduce their climate impact. We must also find ways to address anti-social littering, potentially via incentivization mechanisms, to support positive consumer behavior,” said Héaulmé,

    In addition to climate impact and freshwater consumption, the LCA study measured environmental impact in the following categories: fossil depletion, particle pollution, terrestrial acidification, freshwater eutrophication, ionising radiation, metal depletion and stratospheric ozone depletion. Further categories where single-use packaging provided environmental advantages compared to a multi-use system were fossil depletion, particle pollution and terrestrial acidification.

     

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Sustainable Plastics' news delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe

    Subscriptions to Sustainable Plastics, the leading Pan-European magazine for the circular plastics industry are coming soon.

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter

    "In a changing world, Sustainable Plastics is a constant: a platform the plastics industry can rely on to deliver the news and knowhow impacting the industry going forward”

    SustainablePlasticsFINAL
    Contact Us

    11 Ironmonger Lane, EC2V 8EY
    United Kingdom 
     

    Customer Service:
    1-313-446-0450

    [email protected]

     

    Resources
    • Advertise
    • Sitemap
    • Careers
    • Subscribe
    Affiliates
    • Plastics News
    • Plastics News China
    • LSR World
    • Urethanes Technology
    • Tire Business
    • Rubber & Plastics News
    • Automotive News
    • Automotive News Europe
    • Crain Publications
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2021. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Recycling
      • Sustainability
      • Bioplastics
      • Technology & Materials
        • Injection Moulding
        • Blow Moulding
        • Extrusion
        • Thermoforming
        • 3D printing
        • Technology
        • Materials
        • Machinery
    • Opinion
      • View Point
    • Events
      • Our Exhibitions
        • Plastics Recycling Show Europe
      • Plastics Industry Awards (PIA)
      • Ask the Expert
      • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Reifenhäuser Technologies Livestreams
      • Plastics News Europe Live Archives
    • Prices & Resources
      • Polymer Prices
      • Data Reports
      • White Papers
    • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Media Pack
    • Subscribe
    • Digital magazine
      • Digital Magazine
    • Multimedia