Page 62 - Plastics News February 2026
P. 62
IN THE NEWS
UNDERSTANDING THE LIFE CYCLE
ANALYSIS OF PLASTIC PRODUCTS
print of plastic products where the raw materials
are mined, up to the treatment of the end-of-life
products. LCA facilitates compliance reporting,
carbon accounting, eco-design strategies, sup-
plier benchmarking as well as ESG commitments
in B2B industries. It makes sustainability a mar-
keting statement a performance measure.
This article will discuss the plastic product life cy-
cle, process of plastic life cycle assessment as
well as how industries can use LCA to minimize
the carbon footprint of plastic products without
affecting performance.
What Is Life Cycle Analysis of Plastics?
The life cycle analysis of plastics is a methodol-
I ntroduction: Why Life Cycle Thinking Matters of a plastic product during its entire lifecycle.
ogy of the assessment of environmental effects
in the Plastics Industry
This covers the process of extraction of raw
The plastics cannot be disregarded in various materials, the production of the polymer, manu-
industrial fields such as packaging, automobile, facturing, transportation, use and the disposal
healthcare, electronics, construction, and con- processes at the end of the life like recycling,
sumer products. They are the building blocks of combustion or landfills.
contemporary manufacturing due to their dura- LCA in the sector of industry is performed in the
bility, lightweight nature, economical nature, and line of the international standards and norms like
versatility. Nevertheless, increasing environmen- ISO 14040 and ISO 14044. These standards are
tal scrutiny has heightened the demand of quan- able to guarantee transparency, comparability
titative, information-based sustainability prac- and consistency in the methodology across sec-
tices. To the manufacturers, converters, brand tors.
owners and procurement teams, the life cycle
analysis of plastics is no longer a choice, but a In its essence, plastic life cycle assessment
strategic necessity. measures such parameters as the energy use,
greenhouse gas emissions, water use, waste,
The Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) offers a stepwise and resource depletion. This is aimed at mapping
approach to assessing the environmental foot-
62 PLASTICS NEWS February 2026
