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Life Cycle Assessment of Polylactic Acid Biopolymer Industrial Waste Management Techniques in Belize
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This study used life cycle assessment to compare four waste management methods for polylactic acid (PLA) bioplastic waste in Belize, finding that anaerobic digestion produced the greatest climate benefit (-0.06 kg CO2 eq. per kg PLA) by generating energy offsets, outperforming landfill, landfill expansion, and cogeneration.
In January 2020, the Government of Belize enacted an Implementation Strategy and Action Plan to phase-out single-use plastics and to transition to products like bioplastics. This work investigated the environmental effects of using alternative waste management techniques to manage polylactic acid biopolymer (PLA) waste by using life cycle assessment (LCA). The following treatment options were compared: landfill, landfill expansion, cogeneration, and anaerobic digestion. The landfill and landfill expansion processes both had a global warming potential of 0.01 kg of CO2 eq. per kg of PLA waste managed compared to the cogeneration and anaerobic digestion processes -0.03 and -0.06 kg of CO2 eq. per kg of PLA respectively. This difference was due to offsets produced by the cogeneration and anaerobic digestion systems. Additionally, it was shown that construction material requirements of the waste management systems often attribute less than 15% of total burdens to environmental impacts. Through uncertainty and sensitivity analysis it was shown that higher gas capture efficiencies in landfills and higher electrical efficiencies in cogeneration and anaerobic digestion, should be targeted to minimize GWP. Effective use of developed LCA models can assist Belize with strategies for eliminating petroleum single-use plastic and provide waste management strategies to help inform decision makers.
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