Eurosac - European Federation of Multiwall Paper Sack Manufacturers

 

 

 

PRESS RELEASE

 

 

 

 

Life Cycle Assessment of shopping bags: a study with meaningful learning?

 

The environmental impacts of paper and plastic shopping bags have been evaluated. This study shows improvements to bring to the application of the methodology of Life Cycle Assessment. It also reminds some key issues regarding generalizations.

 

The flexible paper and cardboard Sector, together with Ecobilan PricewaterhouseCoopers, put the emphasis on 7 methodology issues to improve, while bringing some methodology inputs.

 

Numerous comparative Life Cycle Assessment studies have been done in the packaging sector in general and the shopping bags one in particular. Such studies results have often given birth to unfair generalizations. These generalizations have expanded the conclusions to all the products of the sector, or even to the materials themselves… The unfair biases in the results interpretation most often come from a given number of methodology shortcuts, and more particularly a lack of precision in the identification of the functionalities fulfilled by the compared products.   

 

The Functional Analysis, a key issue

The environmental impacts evaluation of shopping bags, publicly released today, has been mandated by Procelpac and Sacs Papier de France following the unfair generalization which has followed the work done on the reusable shopping bags.

The present study has been done by Ecobilan PricewaterhouseCoopers – with the support of ADEME, CEPI, Eurokraft, ETAPS, Eurosac, PaperPlus et le Syndicat des Sylviculteurs du Sud Ouest *. It shows that the functional study is crucial in the choice of the products to be compared.

 

As a matter of fact, the characterization of the different expected functionalities of a product, which may seem simple in the case of a shopping bag, is not an evidence and should not be reduced to a mere transported product. As reminds Philippe Osset, Director of Ecobilan, “the use of a simple functional unit is most often shortening the perspectives. This use is most often the result of preconceived ideas. When a simple functional unit is used without care in the scope of a Life Cycle Assessment, it may drive to unfair generalizations”.

 

Positives results which lead to elaborations

The study has enabled to show the environmental performances of the paper shopping bags and the plastic shopping bags. According to it, the paper shopping bags demonstrates various advantages as compared to plastic shopping bags: reduced non renewable energy use (from 50 to 70% depending on the bags), significant reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (from 30 to 60%), reduced waste production, photochemical oxidant production and lower environment risks associated to abandon of bags.

The weak points from an environment point of view are linked to water use and emissions: consumption of water and Eutrophication is bigger that the one of plastic shopping bags.

 

These results are opposite as compared to the ones of the previously mentioned study. This may be surprising for some readers. As reminds Philippe Osset “in the case of the shopping bags (paper or plastic), the size and mass of the bag, the amount of raw materials used which will trig the environment results, including the fact that both studied bags are not reused”.

 

This positioning demonstrates the necessity to take into account products which provide the same services, and to explain in enough details these services in order to avoid the generalization of the conclusions to product categories, or to materials.

 

The applications of the LCA methodology have to improve

From the practical work on this study, the need to carry on methodology improvements have been shown, specifically on the way natural resources are taken into account, on the integration of multiple recycling loops… and more specifically on water consumption which is, as of today, accounted as the amount pumped.

 

The full set of methodology proposals have been recorded in a document which will be widely communicated in order to contribute to the progress in the application of the LCA methodology, when this methodology seems to have a key role to play in numerous fields as the product and services environment communication – labelling – as it is currently discussed at European level in the scope of the Integrated Product Policy set up.

 

 

Paris, March 26, 2008

 

 

 

Contacts :

PROCELPAC                                  Noël Mangin - +33 (0)1 53 89 24 80

SACS PAPIER DE FRANCE        Stéphane Teicher - +33 (0)1 47 23 75 52

 

Functionality and sustainability - hand in hand with paper sacks and paper bags

This 4-page brochure presents the main results of the last Eurosac / CEPI Eurokraft's life cycle inventory study for kraft paper and paper sack production.

It can be ordered from the Eurosac Secretariat here.

Eurosac, together with CEPI Eurokraft, has already realised several Life Cycle Analysis (LCAs) and Life Cycle Inventories (LCIs) on the Paper Sack and Kraft Paper used for the manufacturing of Paper Sacks.
The last one, established by the Swedish research institute STFI-Packforsk AB for ESG (the European Paper Sack Research Group in which Eurosac and CEPI Eurokraft work together), has just been finished.

The results are available upon request from the Secretariat, please contact us.