Page 69 - Materials Chemistry, Second Edition
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Life Cycle Assessment: Principles, Practice and Prospects
              56


                                Raw material   Product
                                 extraction


                                 Material      Filling    Package      Material   Raw material
                                 processing              manufacture  processing   extraction



                                                         Secondary
                                 Newsprint   Distribution  and tertiary
                                 production
                                                          packaging

                                                         Secondary
                                 Printing and   Use      packaging
                                 distribution             discard



                     Avoided product                                          Avoided product
                     system for landfill                                      system for recycling
                                                 Paper and
                                   Paper and                    Product or
                     Coal extraction             packaging
                                   packaging                    package        Raw material
                                   discard to    discard to    manufacture      extraction
                       Transport  waste stream    recycle      with recyclate
                                                  stream
                       Electricity                              Transport       Transport
                       generation
                                  Collection and                                Material
                                   transport                   Reprocessing     processing
                                                                Transport
                       Power
                      generation                                                Product or
                     from methane               Collection and   Sorting and    package
                       (organic     Landfill     transport       primary       manufacture
                     fractions only)                            processing    with alternative
                                                                               to recyclate
                                      System boundary
                 Figure 6.3  The system boundary (boxed) for the paper and packaging waste project, stage 2.








                     Waste management  Reprocessing to   Production of   Waste management
                    from kerb) – recycling  + recycled material -  virgin material -  from kerb) – landfill   =  Net savings of
                                                                 (removal of discards
                    (removal of discards
                                                                                    recycling
                                                                   Avoided landfill  Net recycling
                                                    Avoided virgin   impacts (usually negative value   savings when value
                  Recycling operations – collection and reprocessing   material production   representing impacts   is positive or
                  (usually negative value representing impacts on   (usually negative value   on environment,   impacts when
                  environment)                    representing impacts   may be positive  value is negative
                                                   on environment)
                                                                due to energy production
                                                                   from landfill)
                 Figure 6.4  Method for calculating net environmental savings in the recycling process.







         100804•Life Cycle Assessment 5pp.indd   56                                       17/02/09   12:46:17 PM
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