LCA Forum | Addressing the issue of plastic pollution: status quo and the way forward

Due to its versatility and durability, plastic can be used for a plethora of purposes and the production and use of plastic products has been rising sharply since the middle of the last century. Unfortunately, not all of this plastic is managed appropriately at its end-of-life and ends up as non-degradable waste in the environment. The motives for this inefficient disposal of plastic polymers are multiple, but include mismanaged municipal solid waste and littering, but also weathering into tiny plastic fragments (e.g., tire abrasion or plastic particles washed through WWTPs). This has become an environmental issue concerning both our ecosystems and potentially also human health.

The field of life cycle assessment has only relatively recently begun to approach the issue of plastic waste, both in terms of required life cycle inventories and appropriate life cycle impact assessment models. Since 2017, when the Medellin Declaration urged the LCA community to address the impacts of plastic pollution, a dynamic research field with a large number of different research institutions involved globally has emerged. Large progress is being made in the development of impact assessment methods and approaches for inventory coverage in order to quantify and implement this aspect of plastic in the assessments.

This discussion forum will provide an overview of the current developments in the inclusion of plastic waste into life cycle assessment and give opportunities to discuss how to address these issues in a consistent way.

Practical information

Language: English

Organizers:
Prof. Dr. Francesca Verones
Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)

Marthe Alnes Høiberg
Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)

Anne-Marie Boulay
CIRAIG, Canada

Ian Vázquez-Rówe
PUCP, Peru

Videorecordings:

Videos are available for free via this link: https://video.ethz.ch/events/lca/2022/autumn/82nd.html

Time		Speaker [Chair]
08:15	Registration	Coffee and croissants
08:45	A framework for addressing marine plastic pollution in LCA 01_Verones.pdf	Francesca Verones, NTNU
09:00	Keynote: Addressing plastic pollution with a life cycle approach: an international perspective 02 Mila.pdf	Llorenc Mila I Canals, UNEP
Release of plastic waste into environmental compartments
09:25	How to consider plastic leakage as a guiding principle for packaging ecodesign? 03_Kounina.pdf	Anna Kounina, Quantis
09:45	Microplastic fibres from textiles: emission routes, transport and environmental fate processes	Andy Booth, Sintef
10:05	A methodology to account for plastic emissions and associated impacts from seafood supply chains. Application to French case studies 05_Loubet.pdf	Philippe Loubet, U Bordeaux*
10:25	PLASTEAX, a model and data repository for plastic end-of-life 06_Boucher.pdf	Julien Boucher
10:45	Discussion
11:00	Coffee break
Fate: Transport, degradation, fragmentation and sinks of plastic litter in the environment
11:30	Modeling of the fate of microplastics in the marine environment 07_Hajjar.pdf	Carla Hajjar*, CIRAIG
11:50	LCA modelling of biodegradable plastic products in soil and sea environments – what data and fate information do we have vs what we need? 08_Askham.pdf	Cecilia Askham, NORSUS
12:10	Nano- and microplastics policy: regulations and considerations for responsible and sustainable plastics use and development 09_Mitrano.pdf	Denise Mitrano, ETH
12:30	Discussion
12:45	Lunch
Short presentations
13:45	Short presentations (7-10 min each, depending on submissions)
	Microplastics in Soils: Risk and Impact Assessment 10_Tunali.pdf	Merve Tunali, Empa
	Life Cycle Assessment of Artificial Turf: Importance of Microplastics 11_Itten.pdf	René Itten, ZHAW
	Partial impact assessment of marine plastics 12_Doka.pdf	Gabor Doka, Doka Ökobilanzen
Exposure and Effects
14:15	Accounting for impacts of macroplastic debris in Life Cycle Assessments 13_Hoiberg.pdf	Marthe Høiberg*, NTNU
14:35	New characterization factors for microplastic emissions of 9 polymers in the marine environment 14_Corella-Puertas.pdf	Elena Corella-Puertas*, CIRAIG
14:55	Development of an effect factor for marine plastics’ impact on marine carbon sequestration 15 Song.pdf	Fei Song*, NTNU
15:15	Coffee break
15:45	Characterization of human exposure and health effect of microplastic and their encapsulated chemicals 16_Jolliet.pdf	Olivier Jolliet*, DTU
16:05	Learnings from Case study applications integrating microplastics impacts in LCA, from the UN SUPP Report 17_Boulay.pdf	Anne-Marie Boulay*, CIRAIG
16:25	The connection between waste dissipation and resource depletion from an LCIA perspective	Diana Ita*, PUCP
16:45	Discussion
Synthesis and Conclusion
17:00	Synthesis and conclusions of the day	Anne-Marie Boulay/Francesca Verones
17:15	End of 82th LCA Forum

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DF 82 – Addressing the issue of plastic pollution: status quo and the way forward