Life Cycle Assessment (Plastic Spoon)

LCA of a latex condom

Condoms are by far the most regularly used means of contraceptive nowadays. Form of contraception procedures assist to prevent unwanted pregnancies. This implies employing condoms is effectively a way of preventing pregnancy. Nevertheless, while family planning may well be the prime objective, a condom is indeed able to deliver additional value to the consumers. Such a benefit is prevention against sexually transmissible illnesses or STIs (Yarber et al., 2005).

A condom has indeed been regarded as the bodysuit, the latex, as well as the nightcap. The employment of condoms for varied reasons has contributed to its gradual change into the standard latex variety that is frequently used nowadays. Condoms seem to be a topic of interest all through time. The notion of protected sex has indeed been investigated throughout ancient and contemporary times, and has already been utilized to avoid venereal infections.

Use of a condom

A significant assumption that could be derived through medical records is that society always has found a means to cope with its issues in contraceptive methods and sexual transmission illnesses, as it has afflicted individuals of all ethnicity, religion, region, and creed. This revolutionary technology has achieved such prominence that an estimate of 18 billion condoms is anticipated to be employed in 2015 altogether. Condom sales are projected to top 35 billion pieces in 2020, making it probably the most common form of contraception in the world (Harvey, 1994). In order to so, a huge number of latex trees are extracted, which results in the drying of the latex trees. Similarly, the fuel used in order to run the plants for the production is ginormous as well. The worldwide condom industry has grown as a result of aspects such as rising consumption from emerging economies, the launching of advanced varieties such as flavoured condoms, as well as an expansion in advertising and exposure of these items online.

Disposal of Condoms

Male and female contraceptives cannot be reused or recycled in the strictest sense, which means that every condom should only be employed once. (Several people think that they might rinse out all the contraceptives and then use it, but this is neither valid or suggested.) It's up for debate as to whether or not condoms can be recycled. Because condoms come into touch with human sperm, that cannot be readily separated and hence cannot be recycled, there have been no condom recycling initiatives.

What Happens to Our Used Condoms When There's No Way to Recycle Them?

Condom latex degrades naturally in the environment. Rubber tree fluid is the source of latex, a natural material. Latex condoms, for most half, can indeed be deconstructed. Condoms covered with intimate lubricants or contraceptive sponge may be more difficult to disintegrate, making the procedure more difficult. The far more essential thing to remember would be to never drain a condom. This is due to a number of factors. Latex is not biodegradable anymore after it has been exposed to water. Putting condoms to dumps is an unpleasant experience for environmentalists, but it is the safest and most efficient method of disposing of old condoms. However, the used condoms produce a huge amount of waste in the environment, since it takes a large amount of time to disintegrate. Hence, the energy used for the transportation of used condoms and the used condoms itself are the waste in the environment. Similarly, condoms thrown down the toilet may cause clogs in your pipes, which can be costly to replace. The use and disposal of a condom can be portrayed in the flow chart in the figure 1.

Fuel (Waste)

Labour

Fuel (Input)

Labour

Shipping

Fuel (Input)

Labour

Landfills

Distribution in foreign countries

Local Vendors

Plants

Input

- Electricity

- Fuel

- Labour

Input

- condom dipping lines

- electronic testing machines

-equipment for the measurement of burst volume and burst pressure

- machine for the detection of pinholes

Transportation

Disposal (Used Condoms & toilet Paper)

To the customers

Use of condoms

Transportation

Waste

(Used Condoms, Toilet paper, fuel & energy)

Figure 1: Flowchart of use and disposal of condoms

Environmental impacts

The manufacturing process of natural latex condoms has a huge impact on the environment, as it results in global warming and photochemical oxidation. Similarly, the production process also has a significant role in eutrophication (Jawjit et al., 2021). Similarly, breakdown is delayed due to the use of contaminated latex inside the most of condoms, composting condoms may take quite some time, even if the rubber or latex is inherently compostable. The fact that perhaps a latex condom is mainly composed from organic substances, notwithstanding the additives, means that it may biodegrade after many years, maybe even up to a thousand years, under the correct circumstances. Contrary to popular belief, condoms are significantly more environmentally friendly than not using one, since they serve the main aim of stopping the transmission of sexually transmissible illnesses and unintended pregnancies. As long as latex is deemed biodegradable this could take up to four years for the material's breakdown. Before they decay, they may also do impact to the ecosystem.

A huge portion of the consumers have been doing other than the proper disposal of the condoms. Maybe most crucially, flushing a condom. Because of this, there are a number of causes. Latex is no anymore biodegradable after it has been exposed to water. Condoms dumped down the toilet can cause clogs in the plumbing, which can be costly to fix. Despite the fact that ejected condoms are typically recognized and thrown at the start of the water recycle, when they're not detected, they may wind up in the waterways. It is possible for condoms to reach to the rivers and ocean if they travel with some other water pollutants (Coleman, 1981). Moreover, until recently, it was believed that condoms were wrapped in toilet paper before being thrown away. One gross of condoms equalled 3.46 g of paper weight for the calculations. The environmental consequences of the manufacture of toilet roll must also be determined.

Impacts on economy and society

On the contrary, condoms can be considered as a boon, as it helps to prevent unwanted pregnancy and enables safer sex, while being cheap and causing minimal to none health hazards for its consumers. In 2020, the population growth rate of the world was 1% in 2021, which means that nearly 70 million infants were born (Roser et al., 2019). Already the biocapacity of earth is exploited and in the absence of condoms, the population would have been even higher and the resources would have been fewer. Hence, condoms are very good for the society.

Definitely the condom manufacturing companies and the countries are profitable due to the popularity of the product. The worldwide condom industry was worth $6.76 billion during 2017 and is expected to rise substantially in the coming years as more people realize the need of condoms. By 2023, the worldwide condom industry was predicted to be worth $11.1 billion. Hence, condoms are a boon for both the society and the economy and has a slight impact on the environment.

Ways to reduce environmental impact

In natural rubber condom manufacture, minimizing power use is an essential method to lessen environmental implications. Numerous energy-saving methods may be employed, such as boosting the effectiveness of chillers, recuperating excess heat utilizing heat exchangers from the engine exhaust, and employing twin earlier in the dipping procedure. In a study done by Jajit et al., a blend of liquefied natural gas and electricity was applied, and its impacts were studied; this strategy resulting in 6–17% reductions in environmental damage. Entrepreneurs in Thailand must assess the whole environmental impact of their products in order to adhere to a national plan for achieving sustainability. Using the findings of the study done by Jajit et al., policymakers and condom producers alike might devise measures for lowering their devices' negative environmental effects. Such technological changes in the overall manufacturing process can significantly aid in the reduction of environmental impacts.

References