Life Cycle Assessments:

Key Points:

• An assessment of a product’s environmental impact over its lifetime

• Shows the total environmental cost by looking at:

  • Obtaining of raw materials

  • Manufacturing and packaging

  • Product use

  • Product disposal

Measurements included in an LCA:

• CO2 produced

• Water used

• Waste produced

• Pollution

• Resources used

Obtaining of Raw Materials:

• May cause damage to the environment

• Can emit pollutants during extraction

• Processing uses large amounts of energy

Manufacturing and Packaging:

• Large amounts of energy are required

• Can emit pollutants

• Manufacturing waste needs to be considered

  • e.g. waste that is converted to useful chemicals

Product Use:

• Fuels burnt by the product can release pollutants

• Chemical fertilisers can leach the soil, causing eutrophication

  • Eutrophication - when excess nutrients are leaked into the soil, affecting ecosystems due to the number of organisms within a species becoming unbalanced

• The duration and frequency of the product need to be considered

  • Long usage time can result in less waste

Product Disposal:

• Methods of disposal need to be considered

• Landfill can be used for non-biodegradable products, which can cause land or water pollution

• Transportation of waste requires energy, which can in turn contribute to global warming by producing pollution

• Incineration of waste contributes to air pollution