Trade-off Analysis between plastic recycling and material substitution for decarbonization

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  • 脱炭素化に向けた従来プラスチックのリサイクルと素材代替の均衡点分析

Abstract

<p>Polylactic acid (PLA) is bio-based and biodegradable. If PLA is used for plastic containers and packaging (C&P), the characteristic of biodegradability is an obstacle in mechanical recycling, and it is assumed that PLA will be sorted and incinerated. This means that the GHG reduction by conventional plastic recycling is taken away and there is a possibility that the GHG emissions will increase if PLA substitutes items with a high recycling rate. In this research, firstly we investigated current PLA usage information for plastic C&P, then we considered the recycling rate of each item, and finally we estimated the intersection point at which the GHG emissions of PLA production using domestic surplus biomass is the same as the GHG reduction by substituting conventional plastics. As a result, it became clear that if more than 65% of plastic C&P that flow into household are properly recycled thorough promotion of recycling, it is not good for GHG reduction to introduce PLA in all possible alternative uses.</p>

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