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Guiding the transition to a sustainable plastic system: towards a plastic system assessment framework
Summary
This thesis developed a plastic system assessment framework to evaluate short-lived plastic products against sustainability criteria, balancing the triple planetary crisis contributions of plastic production against the functional value plastics provide in modern daily life.
Plastics in short lived products (SLP) contribute to the triple planetary crisis, due to the emission of greenhouse gas emissions during production, use and end-of-life and the leakage of (micro) plastics into the environment, threatening human and ecosystem health. On the other hand, in our modern daily lives, plastics provide important functionalities, such as transporting and protecting our food and providing us comfortable clothes. To eliminate or lessen the contribution of plastics to the triple planetary crisis and simultaneously maintain the functionalities, the plastic system needs to be re-evaluated and reconfigured. We are developing a plastic system assessment framework (PSAF) to guide the transition towards a sustainable plastic system for SLP. The starting point of this framework is the use of plastic products and the functionality that they provide. This allows for the creation of sustainable designs, including the selection of sustainable materials. Building on this, material flows are modelled on a system-level, and the sustainability of these systems is assessed with multiple indicators. Besides traditional life cycle assessment indicators (e.g., global warming potential), new indicators relevant for plastics are developed (e.g., the microplastic accumulation potential of polymers and plastic products). The framework shows how all aspects of the technical system are interlinked and how changes affect system sustainability. The PSAF will enable us to study the sustainability of different scenarios of a reconfigured plastic system and the pathways towards such a new system. These insights could guide policymakers and stakeholders in transitioning to a sustainable plastic system for SLP and will identify key innovations (new materials and recycling methods) that could drive progress towards a such a sustainable system. In this presentation, we will give an overview of the framework and specifically focus on how microplastic accumulation is calculated.