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Completed Projects

Defining sustainable packaging

Background

Internationally there is no clarity about what constitutes ‘sustainable packaging’. Policy initiatives have focused on waste reduction and recycling rather than sustainability. In Australia the National Packaging Covenant (NPC) aims to achieve continuous improvements in the 'life cycle environmental impacts' of packaging but there are no clear targets or principles for sustainable packaging development. This project aims to engage with key stakeholders to develop a vision for sustainable packaging which is relevant to Australia. This vision will help to guide policy development and industry practice by helping to define packaging solutions which are environmentally responsible, commercially viable and socially acceptable.

Outline of the project

This project is being led by RMIT. Activities undertaken to date include:

  • Preparation of an initial discussion paper called 'Towards Sustainable in 2002.
  • A survey of 32 industry, government and community stakeholders in 2003.
  • Dissemination of a draft discussion paper called ‘Defining Sustainable Packaging’.
  • Discussion of the survey outcomes at the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA) conference in Melbourne in November 2003.
  • Dissemination of an updated paper including feedback from the ISWA conference ‘Defining Sustainable
  • Preparation of a draft definition for discussion.
  • Paper presentation at the 22nd IAPRI Symposium, Campinas, SP, Brasil (May 2005) - Sustainable Packaging: How do we Define and Measure It?

Current status

In 2007 SPA updated its definition of sustainable packaging. The new definition took into account recent developments including new data on the urgency of the global warming problem, the revised NPC and the work of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition. SPA believes that packaging should meet the following four sustainability principles:

  • effective - provide social and economic benefits;
  • efficient - provide benefits by using materials, energy and water as efficiently as possible;
  • cyclic - be recoverable through industrial or natural systems; and safe - non-polluting and non-toxic.

Comments are invited in the revised definition, which is contained in Sustainable Packaging Redefined (2007).

Greenfly

Greenfly is an easy to use, yet powerful online tool for designers to integrate environmental considerations into their products using ecodesign strategies and Life Cycle Assessment data. Greenfly was developed by the Sustainable Products and Packaging group to assist designers to produce environmentally preferable products, and to make informed design decisions to integrate sustainability into products.

More about Greenfly

2009

Woolworths shopping bag study

The Centre for Design was approached in early 2009 by the Woolworths group and commissioned to perform an environmental impact assessment study on a variety of different shopping bags.

The report summarises and updates current knowledge on the environmental impacts of materials used for retail shopping bags in Australia based on the life cycle assessment approach. It commenced with a:

  • Review and update of LCA studies including the seven different shopping bag options
  • Review of the end of life disposal practices, advantages and limitations for each option
  • Summary of the environmental impacts from the LCA review and modelling by:
    • tabulating the data in absolute units as well as an ‘equivalency format’
    • representing the relativity of impacts for the seven bag options in graph form
    • ranking the bag options from 1-7 for each impact category
    • conducting a sensitivity analysis on key parameters impacting the interpretation of the results

The seven shopping bags analysed were:

  • High density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic with 100% virgin material;
  • HDPE plastic with recycled material;
  • Compostable bag;
  • Oxo-degradable bag;
  • Paper bag;
  • Reusable polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bag with recycled material; and
  • Reusable polypropylene (PP) bag.

The life cycle assessment modelling was undertaken using the SimaPro® software based on the unit defined as the amount of shopping bags consumed by a household to carry 70 separate grocery items home from the supermarket each week for 52 weeks. The system boundaries captured the growing and processing of the corn-starch material, the manufacturing and thermoforming of the polymer, the material extraction and production of HDPE, the growth of trees and paper processing, the manufacturing processes, the manufacturing of bags from those raw materials, transport, use and waste management of the product. The production of PET and PP fibres was also included. The post-consumer waste management scenario considered landfill, recycling and commercial composting for the applicable materials and the reuse of bags as bin liners (only applicable for single use polymer bags).

The disposal and recovery options for the different bags vary and are dependent upon at least three key factors:

  • the design of the bag, including the primary material used and its durability;
  • the available infrastructure for collection and recovery of this type of bag; and
  • the behaviour of individual consumers.

Key findings from the study were:

  1. The reusable bags (PET and PP) generally have lower environmental impacts than all of the single use bags
  2. The benefits of a reusable bag are highly sensitive to the number of occasions each bag is used during its life
  3. The single use paper bag has the highest environmental impact as a result of pulp and paper production and the weight of material required per bag
  4. The global warming impacts are driven by material resource consumption and energy use across the life cycle
  5. The water use impacts are driven by water consumed in material consumption
  6. Raw materials sourced from land based operations have higher impacts for eutrophication (the release of nutrients into waterways) and land use (the occupation of land to grow crops and timber)
  7. Paper bags have the lowest impact on litter. HDPE bags and paper bags make up a small percentage of littered items but HDPE bags tend to have a higher impact as they are more visible and take longer to break down
  8. All of the bags have the potential to be recovered after they are used. Whether they are depends on the material the bag is made of, the infrastructure available for collection and reprocessing, and the willingness of consumers to dispose of the bag through an available recovery system

More information is available in the "Environmental impacts of shopping bags" report (PDF, 344 KB)

WELS: Development of Communications Content

The Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards (WELS) Scheme requires the development of communications content regarding the benefits of purchasing and using water efficient water products.

Specifically, modular content is required that covers issues to take into account at the various stages of product lifecycles in order to maximise water efficiency, energy efficiency, greenhouse emissions reductions, cost savings and other sustainability outcomes. Lifecycle stages to be considered include


Funding Source


Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts


Key RMIT Researchers


Associate Professor Ralph Horne and Professor John Fien

Extended Environmental Benefits of Recycling (EEBR) Study

The aim of this project is to review and update an existing Benefits of Recycling study; extend the environmental benefits of recycling indicators and develop a working Microsoft Excel based calculator to rest the environmental indicators and ensure recycling initiatives can be effectively evaluated.


Funding Source


Department of Environment and Climate Change


Key RMIT Researchers


Dr Karli Verghese, Andrew Carre, Scott McAlister and Adjunct Professor Tim Grant

2008

Plantic Technologies Summary

In 2004, a Life Cycle Assessment study was conducted for Plantic Technologies detailing the impacts of their biodegradable plastic product and operations. Products that can be manufactured from Plantic® include biscuit and chocolate trays (primary packaging system) and product display trays (secondary packaging) for confectionary, cosmetics, personal care etc. Through collection of appropriate data, the subsequent analysis provided Plantic with a better understanding of the environmental benefits of the product, allowing them to improve communication with customers and other stakeholders.

The Centre for Design was commissioned to conduct another LCA study for Plantic Technologies in 2007 and completed in 2008. The goal of the study was to determine the potential environmental impacts of the Plantic biodegradable starch based polymer through its entire life cycle, and to provide a suitable comparison with alternatives including polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), general purpose polystyrene (GPPS) and polylactic acid (PLA).

Hyder Study

EcoRecycle Victoria commissioned the Centre for Design to conduct a life cycle assessment study on waste and resource recovery options (including energy from waste) as part of their Strategy Plan. Previously, the Centre for Design was commissioned by EcoRecycle to conduct a study around the environmental benefits derived from the recycling of common paper and packaging materials. The resulting report concluded that there were significant benefits derived from recycling of the materials, but the report did not look at the general waste stream and non-recyclable fractions of paper and packaging waste.

Fifteen scenarios were modeled around the following waste management options:

  • Recycling
  • landfill
  • aerobic stabilisation
  • anaerobic digestion
  • pyrolysis/gasification
  • incineration

The aim of the study was to evaluate the environmental impacts of a range of waste management scenarios using a range of waste treatment technologies in a full life cycle context. The basis of the study was the management of a typical household waste stream per week in Victoria (represented by two case study areas for Hume City Council and the City of Greater Bendigo). The system identified for analysis included:

  • transport impacts
  • sorting
  • processing through the selected waste management technology
  • processing or disposal of any residual material.

Findings from the study were:

  • Substantial environmental savings are achieved by undertaking curbside recycling
  • Additional benefits can be obtained from separating organic materials and turning them into compost. The higher the yields of materials, the higher the savings.
  • In the Victorian context, thermal based waste treatment options with high electricity generation rates appear to deliver better environmental outcomes than other residual waste treatment options assessed
  • The environmental benefits of compost application are likely to have been severely underestimated

National Packaging Covenant – Review signatory Action Plans and Annual Reports (APAR)

The objectives of the project are:

  1. determine a methodology to select a statistically valid sample for Action Plans and Annual reports (APAR)
  2. report the number of APAR with a 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 Star Rating
  3. evaluate signatories’ APAR at an individual level
  4. compare actions and outcomes between industry signatories of similar size and position in each part of the packaging supply chain
  5. evaluate signatories’ contributions as a whole
  6. evaluate the effectiveness of the current APAR process

Funding Source

The National Packaging Covenant Industry Association

Key RMIT Researcher

Dr Karli Verghese

Streamlined Life Cycle Assessment Study

The key objective of this project is to perform a streamlined life cycle assessment study to determine the environmental impacts of five (5) shopping bags made from various materials.

Funding Source

Target Australia Pty Ltd

Key RMIT Researchers

Dr Karli Verghese

BRBA Website

The Buy Recycled Business Alliance (BRBA) is an industry organization representing businesses that manufacture, supply or use products made from, or include, recycled material/s.

Recyclability and recycled content in products and packaging are becoming important due to stringent requirements by the strengthened National Packaging Covenant (2005-2010) which has targets and key performance indicators that relate to recyclability and recycled content. In addition, the office products and consumables market provides a common challenge for all businesses seeking to purchase recycled content and recyclable products who also use recycled content and recyclable packaging. This is a natural starting point for many offices, following their decision to ‘go green’. Therefore access to reliable information rapidly, is of importance.

The Centre for Design developed such a web portal for BRBA so that businesses and the general public can access a credible, centralized information source about these products. The intention was to encourage the uptake of recycled content products that, in turn, supports the recycling sector, reduces waste to landfill and reduces raw materials consumption.

This web portal was launched in June 2008 and can be accessed via http://www.brba.com.au/recycledproductdirectory/index.cfm

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2007

National sustainable design curriculum development

For the first time in Australia, a curriculum resource kit for tertiary teachers and students in industrial design has been produced in order to provide for an improved understanding of Design for Environment (DfE) principles, strategies and resources. The curriculum was piloted in Industrial Design Programs at RMIT University (Victoria), University of South Australia, University of New South Wales and University of Technology Sydney (NSW) before production of the resource kit for wider use. A copy of the completed kit was distributed to all industrial design degree course tutors in Australia upon completion in early 2007.

The objective of the project was to develop a curriculum resource kit for tertiary teachers and students in industrial design that would provide them with an understanding of Design for Environment (DfE) principles, strategies and resources. The curriculum’s development was supported by a grant from the Commonwealth Government’s Department of the Environment and Heritage’s Environmental Education Grants program and Sustainability Victoria.

An Advisory Committee was established which included representation from the following institutions: RMIT University; University of Technology, Sydney; University of Canberra; University of New South Wales; Swinburne University, Product Ecology and Sustainability Victoria.

The national sustainable design curriculum comprises of 11 sessions that can be presented during a standard three-hour studio. One of the main aims of the project was to develop a curriculum that was flexible. Therefore, whether it is run in its entirety or only selected sessions the curriculum is designed to offer both the lecturers and students a good introduction to the main issues associated with sustainable design. Topics covered include:

  • Ecology and environmental impacts
  • The ethics of design
  • The drivers for sustainable design
  • The history of sustainable design
  • The sustainable design process
  • Sustainable design support tools
  • The life cycle of a product (manufacture, use, end of life), and
  • The promotion of sustainable products.

2006

RAT – Rapid Assessment Tool

The Rapid Assessment Tool (RAT©) is a paper-based environmental assessment tool for product design process which provides assistance to product developers regarding the integration of environmental considerations during the product development process. This includes step-by-step guidance for the application of various design for environment (DfE) strategies in order to lower environmental burden of the product.

Other features of the tool include a comprehensive list of material and manufacturing processes, relevant to the product development sector; resource impact scores based on life cycle assessment (LCA) data and information regarding EoL (End of Life) options (e.g., reuse, recycling, disposal). The LCA data in the tool is adapted for the Australian context.

The paper-based RAT was developed in 2005 as part of the HeadStart course run by the Centre for Design at RMIT in conjunction with Product Ecology, the Design Institute of Australia and Eco-Recycle Victoria (now known as Sustainability Victoria). In 2006 funding was made available through the Victorian Sustainability Fund to update the tool and translate it into an on-line tool known as Greenfly.


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