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Increasing resource efficiency by utilising secondary raw material is one of the key characteristics of a circular economy. Textile dust fibre, a waste generated from textile mechanical recycling has the prospect to be utilised as secondary raw material for producing novel material: textile paper suitable for packaging and other applications. A comparative Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of carrier bags made from one ton of virgin paper, recycled paper and novel textile paper (~22584paper bags with grammage of 100 g/m2 and same dimensions for all 3 types of bags) showed that textile paper bag is more environmentally friendly in terms of carbon footprint. The largest environmental contributors were energy consumed in the pulping and paper making processes, followed by the use of adhesives and printing ink in the conversion process of paper to papercarrier bags. A comparative Techno-economic Assessment (TEA) was carried out for the operating cost of producing the three selected carrier bag types. The analysis conveyed that textile paper bags are more economically attractive, mainly due to the partial substitution of paper fibre with low-cost textile dust fibre. Furthermore, a simple tool was developed with an attempt to assess and compare materials suitability for the circular economy considering life cycle thinking and business perspectives. Assessment of textile paper using the Circular material assessment tool indicated that there is still scope for improvement on the following circularity characteristics of circular material: scarcity of raw material, local supply of resources, clean and non-toxic resources. Textile paper material scored high in the following circularity characteristics: secondary raw material, industrial symbiosis, recycling, resource efficiency in manufacturing and use. In the final step, the textile paper bag was eco-designed through the combined and iterative LCA and TEA approach with the aim to achieve improved scores as a circular material. In order to understand the overall sustainability advantages and trade-offs, further research is recommended on different textile dust fibre grades as well as textile paper performance based on mechanical properties. It is also recommended to investigate textile paper in other applications like one time fashion clothes, reusable paper bags as textile hangers etc.

Background, aim, and scope: Packaging uses nearly 40% of all polymers, a substantial share of which is used for sensitive merchandise such as moisture-sensitive food. To find out if bio-based materials are environmentally advantageous for this demanding application, we compared laminated, printed film across the whole life cycle. Materials and methods: We compared bio-based materials (paper, polylactic acid, bio-based polyethylene, and a biobased polyester) as well as conventional ones (polypropylene, polyethylene). Data stemmed from13 companies that produce raw materials, films and/or laminates and which co-operated with us in a project commissioned by a large food producer. The functional unit chosen for this study is 1 m2 of packaging film. This is (mostly) laminated, printed film that is delivered on reels to the food industry, where the laminate is cut, sealed and filled. The impact assessment is presented for non-renewable energy use, total energy use, global warming potential, depletion of abiotic resources, photo-oxidant formation, acidification, eutrophication, water use, and land use. Results: For Inner Packs that get in direct contact with food and therefore require certain barrier properties, the environmental performance of many laminates is not better than the reference, petrochemical material. However, our study shows that paper/polypropylene laminates perform equally well as the current material (polypropylene) if the material is landfilled, and better if incinerated with energy recovery. For Outer Packs, bio-based polyethylene film shows a particularly low environmental impact. Paper/bio-based polyester laminates also offer significant savings compared with the current material. For Inner as well as Outer Packs, laminates including polylactic acid offer environmental advantages when accounting for wind credits or when assuming a future technology level for polymer or film production. Discussion: Increased technology maturity of PLA and cellulose in the film production stage offers significant environmental improvement with respect to global warming potential compared with today's technology. Though large, the uncertainty regarding the degree of degradation of paper, cellulose, PLA and bio-based polyester, is not decisive for the conclusions. Conclusions and recommendations: Generally, laminates and films (partly) consisting of bio-based polymers offer opportunities for significantly reducing environmental impacts of food packaging. Large variations in land-use are possible depending on the type of bio-based material that is used. The environmental advantages differ depending on the polymer and the final product (Inner vs. Outer Pack). Lack of experience and investment in converting bio-based polymers into final products and comparatively unfavourable material properties result in lower environmental advantages for some novel bio-based materials than one may expect. However, a) already today, the options with the lowest global warming potential are partly or fully bio-based and b) bio-based materials will benefit more from technological progress than conventional materials, potentially making certain bio-based laminates highly attractive options for the future. Overall, Outer Packs are more promising than Inner Packs when introducing bio-based wrappings to replace the current petrochemical material because a) the opportunities are clearer for this application and b) the product specifications (required barrier properties) are less demanding. Starting with the Outer Packs would also allow bio-based polymer producers and processors to invest and learn, thus offering the opportunity to reduce the environmental impact even further.

A review of existing life cycle assessments (LCAs) on paper and cardboard waste has been undertaken. The objectives of the review were threefold. Firstly, to see whether a consistent message comes out of published LCA literature on optimum disposal or recycling solutions for this waste type. Such message has implications for current policy formulation on material recycling and disposal in the EU. Secondly, to identify key methodological issues of paper waste management LCAs, and enlighten the influence of such issues on the conclusions of the LCA studies. Thirdly, in light of the analysis made, to discuss whether it is at all valid to use the LCA methodology in its current development state to guide policy decisions on paper waste. A total of nine LCA studies containing altogether 73 scenarios were selected from a thorough, international literature search. The selected studies are LCAs including comparisons of different management options for waste paper. Despite claims of inconsistency, the LCAs reviewed illustrate the environmental benefits in recycling over incineration or landfill options, for paper and cardboard waste. This broad consensus was found despite differences in geographic location and definitions of the paper recycling/disposal systems studied. A systematic exploration of the LCA studies showed, however, important methodological pitfalls and sources of error, mainly concerning differences in the definition of the system boundaries. Fifteen key assumptions were identified that cover the three paper cycle system areas: raw materials and forestry, paper production, and disposal/recovery. It was found that the outcome of the individual LCA studies largely depended on the choices made in some of these assumptions, most specifically the ones concerning energy use and generation, and forestry

The most environmental threats within the pulp and paper industry are of local or regional in character rather than global. The pulp and paper industry requests methods for assessment of the impact of specific mills on their local recipients. With recipient specific knowledge, taking in account the specific prerequisites of the recipient, it is possible to set recipient specific threshold values enabling to reach sustainable emission levels. Earlier experiences show that the present Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) fails to reach this purpose because it assesses potential impacts on a homogenous environment without distinction of the recipient sensitivity. Additionally, the present LCA does not differ between local, regional or global environmental threats. This Master’s Thesis composes a second part of an introduction for carrying out threshold values for aquatic recipients. The first report was made during a previous practice period and consists of a life cycle inventory study of the production at the Norrsundet Mill and the Skoghall Mill. The study aims to suggest a method for assessing local impacts with life cycle perspective, partly by inventory and classification of recipient impact of the two forest industrial mills, and party by an analysis of important literature and development directions in the area. The target audience of this study is an international forest product company, Stora Enso, and also governmental and non-governmental organizations who utilize data and information for environmental applications, or develop methods and methodologies for environmental assessment. This study includes an inventory analysis and an assessment of the environmental conditions of the aquatic recipient of Skoghall Mill during the period 1980-2000 according to the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency’s quality criteria for classification. A general framework for site- specific LCA is presented including a method for inventory and assessment of local environmental impact of the waste water from Skoghall Mill on its aquatic recipient. It is presently not possible to reach such reliability of LCA that is required for an assessment of local environmental impacts. To be able to apply site-specific LCA in the future is required implemented methods for handling environmental data and information internally or externally within the company, or between universities, governmental or non-governmental organizations: standardized methods for inventory of site-specific data from other systems than the technical system: more site-specific data and a higher environmental competence: and also an increased cooperation between suppliers, producers, customers, universities, governmental and non- governmental organizations, etc, to make it possible to aggregate different life cycle stages and to be able to coordinate the costs that become enclosed. Validerat; 20101217 (root)