Life Cycle Assessment (Plastic Spoon)

Life Cycle Analysis on a Plastic Spoon

Part 1

In this life cycle analysis, the paper will address the product plastic spoon. The dictionary defines a plastic spoon as cutlery that has been derived from either petroleum or a biologically-based polymer such as corn and it is intended to be utilized only once in its lifetime. Plastic spoons have provided convenience to customers given their portability and ease of access due to its cheap nature. Plastic spoons are used by people consuming various meals. For instance, consumers can use it during meals such as dinner, breakfast, and lunch. Plastic spoons are also used in eating desserts such as ice cream and fruit bowls. Given their convenience and cheap nature, plastic spoons have been famously used in restaurants, parties, and events that are flooded by a huge number of people. Plastic spoons are also packed for people who order take-outs as they are portable. Furthermore, it saves employees the time that could have been spent in cleaning cutlery since consumers can easily dispose the plastic spoons once they have used them.

The plastic spoon was selected for this life cycle analysis given its single use nature. Once used by one consumer, there are higher chances of the plastic spoon being disposed off in trash, never to be used again for its intended purpose. Furthermore, they are cheap to access and considered suitable for events and gatherings with huge populations of people. There have also been arguments that single-use plastics such as plastic spoons contribute significantly to pollution of land and water bodies. Therefore, it is important to understand its lifecycle and all the resources that have been invested in manufacturing the plastic spoon (Nguyen et al., 2022). From the existing research and published articles, it is possible to conduct a life cycle analysis on a plastic spoon. This paper, therefore, will provide a discussion on the life cycle analysis on a plastic spoon. This discussion will further be illustrated with a flow chat that is provided in part 2.

Part 2

Figure 1 is a flow chart highlighting the life cycle analysis of a plastic spoon.

Acquisition of Raw Materials

Crude Oil mining

Manufacturing and Processing

Refining of Crude oil to remove impurities

Processing of crude oil into simpler components (hydrocarbons, organic compounds, inorganic compounds, metal)

Negative Outputs

Greenhouse gas emissions, soil disturbance, environmental degradation, deforestation, air pollution, solid waste and waste water production

Processing of plastic spoons

Hydrocarbons

Wood

Silicon

analase

plastisizers

stabilizers

chemical energy

electrical energy

Distribution and transportation

Packaging materials such as carton boxes

Road transport

Railway transport

Air transport

Water transport

Acquisition of Raw Materials

Plastic spoons are mainly made from two types of plastics; polystyrene and polypropylene. For these plastics to exist, the key component, hydrocarbon, is required. Therefore, extraction of hydrocarbon as a raw material is achieved by harvesting fossil fuels. This is because hydrocarbons are constituents of either oil or natural gas. The extraction of crude oil (a fossil fuel) is achieved by conducting mining either on land or from drilling under the sea. For oil mining on land to take place, research has to be done to identify potential oil fields that are rich enough to support oil mining for several years. often, wells are drilled to access the oil reservoirs and the il extracted through three main methods, that is thermal recovery, gas injection, or chemical flooding. The crude oil is then transported via pipes to industries for manufacturing and processing (CAPP, 2022). Oil mining leads to soil disturbance, destruction of forests, air pollution, dust pollution, and the production/release of greenhouse gases back into the atmosphere.

Manufacturing and Processing

Once reaching the manufacturing and processing industries, the crude oil is refined. At this stage, any other impurities are separated from crude oil and the only relevant products are retained. The refined crude oil is further processed into individual components that have different uses. Research has shown that crude oil is made up of organic compounds (S, N, O), hydrocarbons (C, H), metals, and other organic and inorganic compounds such as iron and potassium among others. The important crude oil component required for plastic spoon production are the hydrocarbons. After processing, therefore, the hydrocarbons are transferred to plastic spoons manufacturing companies where the manufacturing of plastic spoons begin (UNEP, 2021). The plastic spoons manufacturing companies require the hydrocarbons from crude oil, natural gas, wood, and small amounts of silicon and analase. Plastic spoon manufacturing is an energy intensive activity since the polymerization of plastics requires both chemical and electrical energy. Plasticizers and stabilizers are also used in the manufacturing to ensure that strong and quality plastic spoons are produced. This produces wastes such as solid waste, greenhouse gases, and waste water are realized (Kadekar, 2017).

Distribution and Transportation

Once production is done, the plastic spoons are packaged into carton boxes ready for transportation and distribution. Distribution and transportation from factories to retailers is achieved through air, road, railway, or water transport. This depends on the destination of the plastic spoons. For instance, countries may decide to import plastic spoons and this will be achieved through air, water, or railway transport. Nearby retailers usually receive the spoons through road transport. These modes of transport contribute to greenhouse gases emissions, an important polluter in the global warming process (Dordevic et al., 2021).

References

CAPP (2022). Oil Extraction. Accessed from https://www.capp.ca/oil/extraction/

Dordevic, D., Necasova, L., Antonic, B., Jancikova, S., & Tremlová, B. (2021). Plastic

cutlery alternative: Case study with biodegradable spoons. Foods, 10(7), 1612.

Nguyen, X. C., Dao, D. C., Nguyen, T. T., Tran, Q. B., Nguyen, T. T. H., Tuan, T. A., ... &

Nguyen, D. D. (2022). Generation patterns and consumer behavior of single-use plastic towards plastic-free university campuses. Chemosphere, 291, 133059.

Kadekar, A. (2017). Triple Bottom Line Assessment of Single-use Disposable Plastic

Cutlery.

UNEP (2021). United Nations Environment Programme (2021). Single-use plastic tableware

and its alternatives – Recommendations from Life Cycle Assessments