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allied
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Page 31
7
th
International Conference on
Recycling and Waste Management
October 03-04, 2019 | Melbourne, Australia
Journal of Environmental Waste Management and Recycling | Volume: 02
Circularity of Resources: Minimising unintended consequences with LCA and Life
Cycle Benefit Analysis (LCBA) Metrics
David Baggs
Global GreenTag International Pty Ltd, Australia
M
easuring the impacts and benefits of cyclic resource
use is critical to ensure that the re-use of resources
doesn’t generate unintended consequences beyond the
obvious benefits. All too often cyclic economy outcomes
are seen as ‘so obvious they don’t need quantifying’. Except
as any experienced Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) researcher
will tell you, generally recyclates streams appear to have
higher overall impacts than virgin streams and this is often
used to prefer virgin resources.
The reason is LCA conventionally focusses on only negative
impacts and there are no positive impact metrics to offset
the additional negatives. Hence the development of Life
Cycle Benefit Analysis by Global GreenTag’s LCA partner,
the Evah Institute and the publication by Global GreenTag’s
Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) that present
conventional LCA impacts and LBCA benefits side by side.
LCBA provides the ability to measure the positives that
enable the assessment of ‘Net Zero’ and ‘Net Positive’
products beyond carbon and climate braking, taking into
account issues such as C02e re-absorption, resource re-
recreation (resource consumption avoided), environmental
services and biodiversity restoration, pollution reduction,
oxygen generation, improved health conditions etc.
This paper presents the concept of LCBA and provides
examples of how current EPDs already in the marketplace
show the full benefits of products that contain post-
consumer recycled content in a way that can ensure there
is no net worse impacts generates in the striving towards
the true circular economy.
e:
david.baggs@globalgreentag.com