IS CIRCULAR ECONOMY GOOD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT ? Testing tools for circularity assessment
Geoffrey LONCA, Ph.DResearch associate at CIRAIG
Manuele MARGNI, research directorSophie BERNARD, research co-directorProfesors at Polytechnic school of Montreal
Greening Growth Partnership & Economics and Environmental Policy Research Network Annual Symposium
Ottawa, february 27th, 2020
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CASE STUDY ON PLASTIC BOTTLE CLOSED LOOP RECYCLING IN THE USA PET MARKET
PET BOTTLE CASE STUDY
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Is it environmentally beneficialto increase the amount of recycled PET (rPET) in a plastic bottle in the US ?
Circularity potential to reduce environmental impacts
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0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
100% rPET
100% vPET
100% rPET
100% vPET
100% rPET
100% vPET
100% rPET
100% vPET
Human health Ecosystem quality Climate change Resources
PET production SSP
Data from EcoInvent v2.2
PET MARKET
PET BOTTLE CASE STUDY: SCOPES
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BOTTLE MARKETBRAND
PET BOTTLE CASE STUDY: BRAND SCOPE
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Functional Unit: Consumption of one PET bottle in the USA
Climate impact [CO2eq]
(RC: Recycled Content)
PET BOTTLE CASE STUDY: BRAND SCOPE
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Functional Unit: Consumption of one PET bottle in the USA
Material circularity indicator score
(RC: Recycled Content)
PET BOTTLE CASE STUDY
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What would be the consequences of using more recycled PET (rPET) in bottle production in the US market ?
PET BOTTLE CASE STUDY: MFA ON PET US MARKET
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vPET : virgin PETrPET : recycled PETHQ : High QualityLQ: Low Quality
PET BOTTLE CASE STUDY: BOTTLE MARKET SCOPE
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Functional Unit: Consumption of 2.78 Mt of PET bottles in a year in the USA.
Climate impact [CO2eq]
(RC: Recycled Content)
PET BOTTLE CASE STUDY: BOTTLE MARKET SCOPE
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Functional Unit: Consumption of 2.78 Mt of PET bottles in a year in the USA.
Material circularity indicator score
(RC: Recycled Content)
PET BOTTLE CASE STUDY: BOTTLE MARKET SCOPE
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Functional Unit: Consumption of 2.78 Mt PET bottles, 1.98 Mt PET fibers, 1.13 Mt PET sheets, 500 ktPET films and 69 kt strappings in a year in the USA.
Climate impact [CO2eq]
(RC: Recycled Content)
PET BOTTLE CASE STUDY: BOTTLE MARKET SCOPE
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Functional Unit: Consumption of 2.78 Mt PET bottles, 1.98 Mt PET fibers, 1.13 Mt PET sheets, 500 ktPET films and 69 kt strappings in a year in the USA. Material circularity indicator score
(RC: Recycled Content)
PET BOTTLE CASE STUDY: SUMMARY
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Effetcs from maximizing recycled content into bottle production:
Scopes
Brand
Bottle market
PET market
CC
- 40%
- 3%
∽
MCI
+ 175%
+ 25%
- 3,5%
Based on CC impacts
Sensitivity
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Based on CC impacts
Sensitivity
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Based on CC impacts
Sensitivity
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Based on CC impacts
Sensitivity
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Based on CC impacts
Sensitivity
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LESSONS
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Product circularity ≠ Market circularity
Is it environmentally beneficial to increase the amountof recycled PET (rPET) in a plastic bottle in the US ?
AS LONG AS PET COLLECTION DOES NOT IMPROVE, THEN NO !
DEDICATED PARTNERS
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