Environmental impact of the end-of-life scenarios of PET rigid packaging in Austria

The research project "PET2Pack" analysed lightweight packaging waste in the “yellow bag” and quantitatively assessed the respective environmental impacts of recycled PET granulate as well as for different end-of-life scenarios for PET food trays and bottles. A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was performed to quantify the environmental impacts of secondary PET granulate production and end-of-life scenarios for closed and open- loop recycling compared to primary production. Mass balances and process flow diagrams were developed for Austrian sorting and recycling plants. The global warming potential (GWP) and other impact categories were compared using the LCA method (ISO 14040/14044; midpoint; EF 3.1) and scenario techniques. The results demonstrate that for the analysed fractions recycled PET granulate has a reduction potential of up to 66% compared to virgin material in terms of GWP. This indicates that engaging in open- and closedloop recycling processes is environmentally favourable compared to the current status quo.