Page 156 - Materials Chemistry, Second Edition

140 3 Life Cycle Inventory Analysis

(hindering gases like oxygen to pass the bottle wall) is enclosed by two
PET layers. Injection of the barrier layers occurs during injection moulding
of the bottle preform (co-injection). PA is mostly used as barrier material
for multilayer bottles, other substances like ethyl-vinyl alcohol (EVOH) are
also possible. Clear transparent, brown dyed bottles are employed. No
information on type and quantity of colouring materials is available. For this
study it is assumed that the bottles consist of PET and PA only. Furthermore
it is not known whether scavenger materials are contained in the screw-
type cap, therefore only polyethylene (HDPE) is considered here. The label
adhesive abiding the cut-off criterion is not regarded here.
On the basis of the fU (packaging necessary for the supply of 1000 l filling
material to the point-of-sale; see Section 2.3.2) and with the help of the data in
Table 3.8, reference flows for all materials are known. Thus, for the variant carton
packaging, for example 1.45 kg aluminium must be traced back to the raw material
and considered in the phase of disposal. On the basis of the pallet pattern, the
transportation expenses of the variants can be calculated (see Section 3.2.5).

3.7.1.2 Mass Flows of the Product after Use Phase
For the modelling of the EOL phase, the detailed knowledge of waste flows of a
product after its use is necessary. Both utilisation ratios and the type of utilisa-
tion – material or thermal – must be known. In the sample study the following
statements for the examined 1-l vessels are made, which also indicate the research
routes and the research details (Figure 3.27, Table 3.11):

Beverage Carton
After use, beverage cartons are partly retraced by collection and waste
recovery structures of the DSD. 188) The goal of material recovery is the
production of paper fibres to be used for the production of packagings.
‘Official’ recycling rates in Germany according to the Packaging
Ordinance 189) have been, for the last few years, constantly around 65% in
relation to the total carton put into circulation. 190) This ratio has been used
as the modelling basis in the study. 191) Moreover, the remaining 35% of the
not materially recycled cartons are treated thermally.
In a sorting plant beverage composite cartons are ‘positively’ sorted and
allotted to a target fraction. Positive recognition plus sorting result in a
sorting rate of approximately 90%, the remaining 10% are treated thermally

188) Duales System Deutschland GmbH: www.gruener-punkt.de; waste management company.
189) The Packaging Ordinance (Verpackungsverordnung/VerpackV is intended to avoid the impact
of packaging waste on the environment or to reduce it.
190) See FKN homepage at www.getraenkekarton.de.
191) IFEU, 2004a (unpublished); Only after conclusion of LCA calculations, an ‘official’ utilisation
ratio was published for the year 2005. According to data of the FKN it its about 66%.