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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Plastic litter in life cycle assessment: Advances of the marine impacts in life cycle assessment international taskforce and application to case studies
ClearPlastic litter in life cycle assessment: Advances of the marine impacts in life cycle assessment international taskforce and application to case studies
This review examined advances in incorporating marine plastic litter impacts into life cycle assessment, addressing the long-standing gap in LCA methodology for accounting for plastic pollution as an environmental impact category. Recent progress by the MarILCA research group was highlighted as bringing LCA closer to properly reflecting biodiversity and ecosystem impacts from plastic waste.
Towards a meaningful assessment of marine ecological impacts in life cycle assessment (LCA)
Researchers reviewed how life cycle assessment (LCA) methods — used to quantify industrial environmental impact — currently lack adequate indicators for marine biodiversity loss, and identified pathways to build quantitative cause-effect models for seven major ocean stressors including plastic debris, ocean acidification, and seabed damage.
An effect factor for macro- and microplastic ingestion impacts on marine ecosystems for use in life cycle assessment
Researchers developed a global effect factor to quantify the fraction of marine air-breathing vertebrate species—mammals, seabirds, and sea turtles—potentially affected by macro- and microplastic ingestion, providing a tool to incorporate plastic impacts into Life Cycle Assessment.
Updated and comprehensive characterization factors for microplastics in life cycle assessment considering multimedia fate modelling
Researchers updated life cycle assessment characterization factors for microplastics, developing comprehensive factors that account for ecosystem quality, human health, and socioeconomic impacts across multiple environmental compartments. The updated factors enable LCA practitioners to more accurately compare the plastic pollution impacts of different product systems and waste management strategies.
It is time to develop characterization factors for terrestrial plastic pollution impacts on ecosystems in life cycle impact assessment – a systematic review identifying knowledge gaps
Researchers reviewed how plastic pollution is — and is not — accounted for in life cycle assessments (LCAs), which are tools used to measure a product's full environmental footprint. They found that while ocean plastic impacts have been partially modeled, freshwater and terrestrial plastic pollution, including microplastics, are still missing from standard environmental impact calculations, leaving a major blind spot in sustainability analysis.
Microplastic aquatic impacts included in Life Cycle Assessment
Researchers developed a method to include the environmental damage caused by microplastic pollution in standard lifecycle assessments (LCAs) — the tool companies use to measure a product's environmental footprint — and found that plastic pollution often dominated the toxicity impact scores for consumer packaging. Adding plastic pollution to these assessments could help identify where in a product's life cycle plastic losses cause the most ecological harm.
Strategies for efficient management of microplastics to achieve life cycle assessment and circular economy
This review examines strategies for managing microplastic waste through a circular economy and life cycle assessment (LCA) lens, arguing that current recycling practices and waste disposal methods are inadequate given the sheer volume of plastics entering ecosystems. The authors propose a conceptual framework integrating LCA principles into microplastic management to better quantify ecological risks and guide more sustainable plastic use policies.
Regionalized characterization factors for microplastic emissions in life cycle assessment considering multimedia fate modelling
This study developed regionalized characterization factors for microplastic emissions in life cycle assessment (LCA), using multimedia fate modeling to account for how plastics distribute across marine, freshwater, and terrestrial compartments. The new factors improve the accuracy of plastic product environmental impact assessments, which had previously underestimated ecosystem quality impacts.
Methodology to address potential impacts of plastic emissions in life cycle assessment
Researchers proposed a new method for including the environmental impact of plastic emissions in life cycle assessments, which currently tend to make plastic products appear less harmful than alternatives. The approach introduces characterization factors based on how long different plastics persist in the environment. The study suggests that accounting for plastic pollution in these assessments could significantly change how the environmental footprint of plastic products is evaluated.
A critical review on plastic waste life cycle assessment and management: Challenges, research gaps, and future perspectives
This review examines the full environmental impact of plastics from production through disposal, noting that life cycle assessments often produce unexpected results when comparing bio-based and petroleum-based plastics. A major gap exists because microplastic pollution is not yet factored into these environmental assessments, despite growing evidence of its ecological harm.
How Relevant Are Direct Emissions of Microplastics into Freshwater from an LCA Perspective?
This study assessed the relevance of direct microplastic emissions into freshwater from a life cycle assessment perspective, providing initial inventory data and identifying key knowledge gaps needed to incorporate microplastic impacts into environmental assessments.
eLife Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Plastic Products to Support the Sustainable Develepment Goals/SDGS in Indonesia: Literature Review
This literature review examines the application of life cycle assessment (LCA) to evaluate the environmental impacts of plastic products in Indonesia, in the context of national sustainable development goals. LCA can identify stages in a plastic product's lifecycle that generate the most pollution, including microplastic-generating degradation during use and disposal.
Modeling marine microplastic emissions in Life Cycle Assessment: characterization factors for biodegradable polymers and their application in a textile case study
Researchers developed new methods for measuring the environmental impact of biodegradable plastic microplastic emissions using life cycle assessment. They found that microplastic degradation rates may be overestimated when based on data from larger plastic pieces, and that microplastic emissions could account for up to 30% of the total environmental impact in a textile case study. The work aims to improve the accuracy of environmental comparisons between conventional and biodegradable materials.
The capabilities and deficiencies of life cycle assessment to address the plastic problem
This review critically evaluates the capabilities and limitations of life cycle assessment (LCA) as a tool for understanding the full environmental impacts of plastics across their supply chain, from production through end-of-life disposal. The authors argue that LCA can contextualize plastic impacts relative to alternative materials and reveal invisible environmental costs throughout the plastic life cycle, while also identifying key deficiencies in current LCA methodology for addressing plastic pollution.
How Important is the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Study of Plastic Waste? Use of Bibliometric Analysis to Reveal Research Positions and Future Directions
This paper is not about microplastics — it presents a bibliometric analysis of life cycle assessment (LCA) research on plastic waste from 2013 to 2022, mapping publication trends, leading countries, and key research themes.
An effect factor approach for quantifying the impact of plastic additives on aquatic biota in life cycle assessment
Researchers developed a preliminary effect factor approach to quantify the environmental impact of plastic additives on aquatic organisms within life cycle assessment frameworks, addressing a critical gap in how marine plastic chemical impacts are characterized.
Updated and comprehensive characterization factors for microplastics in life cycle assessment considering multimedia fate modelling
Researchers updated and expanded characterization factors for microplastics in life cycle assessment, allowing better quantification of plastic pollution impacts on ecosystem quality and human health. The new factors cover a broader range of particle types and environmental compartments than previous versions.
Life Cycle Assessment of Selected Single-Use Plastic Products towards Evidence-Based Policy Recommendations in Sri Lanka
Researchers applied life cycle assessment to common single-use plastic products in Sri Lanka, quantifying their environmental impacts across production to disposal and providing evidence-based recommendations to guide national plastic pollution policy.
Recyclable, but not recycled—an indicator to quantify the environmental impacts of plastic waste disposal
This study developed an indicator to quantify the environmental impact of plastic products that are technically recyclable but are not actually recycled in practice, addressing the gap between theoretical recycling potential and real-world recovery rates. The indicator enables more accurate life cycle assessments of plastic product sustainability.
Including impacts of microplastics in marine water and sediments in life cycle assessment
This study developed new methods to measure the environmental impact of microplastics in both ocean water and seafloor sediments, filling a gap in how product environmental footprints are calculated. Previous assessments only considered microplastics floating in water but ignored those that settle into sediments where bottom-dwelling organisms live. Including sediment impacts gives a more complete picture of how plastic pollution from products affects marine life that may eventually enter the human food chain.
Promising indicators for monitoring microplastic pollution
This review evaluated promising biological and ecological indicators for monitoring microplastic pollution, arguing that standardized indicator species and metrics are needed to better track microplastic abundance, distribution, and accumulation in ecosystems.
How accurate is plastic end-of-life modeling in LCA? Investigating the main assumptions and deviations for the end-of-life management of plastic packaging
Researchers reviewed 49 life cycle assessment (LCA) studies on plastic packaging disposal and found that most models oversimplify real-world recycling processes and ignore key factors like plastic additives and microplastic generation. These gaps mean current environmental impact estimates for plastic disposal may significantly understate the true ecological costs.
Microplastics in Global Marine Waters and Biota: Effectiveness of Potential Bioindicators in Mirroring Local Pollution Levels
This review assessed the global occurrence of microplastics in marine waters and biota and evaluated the effectiveness of potential bioindicator species for monitoring plastic pollution. The authors find that standardizing bioindicator protocols is essential for tracking the effectiveness of microplastic mitigation efforts.
Recommendations for life-cycle assessment of recyclable plastics in a circular economy
This paper examines how life-cycle assessments of plastic recycling are often conducted inconsistently, leading to misleading conclusions about the environmental benefits of recycling. The authors recommend measuring impacts based on the amount of useful recycled product rather than waste processed, and expanding analysis beyond greenhouse gases to include plastic waste leaking into the environment. Better assessment methods could lead to more effective policies for reducing the plastic waste that ultimately becomes microplastic pollution.