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Research emphasizes that existing approaches to identify drivers and barriers for implementing CE in organizations pay little attention to the roles of actors and their specific decision-contexts. Here, we identify research gaps in existing literature regarding the goals of actors, methods used and forms of collaboration in relation to CE. To address these gaps, we use the case of implementing CE for Electric Vehicle batteries at an automotive manufacturer in Germany to explore decision contexts for CE. Based on a number of internal stakeholder interviews, we identify four key decision contexts for CE, which we characterize in terms of goals, methods and forms of collaboration. Thereby, we provide novel insights into how implementing CE is linked to context-specific conditions in terms of transparency, plannability, integration in product development and entrepreneurial culture. Lastly, we discuss the findings in relation to existing literature and derive directions for future studies in the field of CE assessment and implementation.

Objectives/hypothesis The accurate diagnostic assessment of clinically relevant human papillomavirus (HPV) infections in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma represents an urgent unmet medical need. The aim of this study was to determine feasibility, accuracy, and clinical significance of HPV16/18 E6 oncoprotein detection on cytological specimens from oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) and neck lymph node metastasis of SCC from unknown primary tumor (CUP) via a protein immunochromatographic assay. Study design Cross-sectional study. Methods Cytological specimens from primary tumor and neck metastases were collected from 34 patients with OPSCC or CUP and applied to a lateral flow format test that detects HPV16 and HPV18 E6 oncoproteins. E6 oncoprotein positivity or negativity in these specimens was compared to the specimens' "HPV-driven" reference status, defined by presence of HPV-DNA in combination with p16INK4a overexpression and/or HPV E6 seropositivity. Results Eighteen of 29 OPSCC (62%) and three of five CUP (60%) were HPV-driven according to our reference method. The E6 oncoprotein lateral flow test had a sensitivity of 94% (95% CI: 70%-100%) and a specificity of 100% (95% CI: 66%-100%) on primary tumor, and a sensitivity of 88% (95% CI: 64%-99%) and a specificity of 100% (95% CI: 74%-100%) on neck metastases. Test agreement between the E6 lateral flow test and the clinical reference method, HPV-DNA plus p16INK4a was excellent, both for primary lesion and neck metastases. Conclusions We found the detection of HPV16/18 E6 oncoproteins to be a feasible, highly reliable, and low-invasive method to assess "HPV-driven" status in OPSCC and CUP. Level of evidence II Laryngoscope, 131:1042-1048, 2021.

Sustainable Design Engineering (SDE) is an emerging research field and the development of programmes aiming at educating sustainable design engineers is very limited. One example is the SDE program at the Aalborg University in Copenhagen, which is based on a Problem Based Learning (PBL) model. In this article we aim to address the following three research questions: i) why Sustainable Design Engineering? ii) what is Sustainable Design Engineering? iii) How can Sustainable Design Engineering be implemented? By means of two examples from master thesis projects in the building and food sectors.

The tight junction protein claudin-18 (CLDN18), is often expressed in various cancer types including gastric (GC) and gastroesophageal adenocarcinomas (GECs). In the last years, the isoform CLDN18.2 emerged as a potential drug target in metastatic GCs, leading to the development of monoclonal antibodies against this protein. CLDN18.2 is the dominant isoform of CLDN18 in normal gastric and gastric cancer tissues. In this work, we evaluated the immunohistochemical (IHC) profile of CLDN18 and its correlation with clinical and histopathological features including p53, E-cadherin, MSH2, MSH6, MLH1, PMS2, HER2, EBER and PD-L1 combined positive score, in a large real-world and mono-institutional series of advanced GCs (n = 280) and GECs (n = 70). The association of IHC results with survival outcomes was also investigated. High membranous CLDN18 expression (2+ and 3+ intensity ≥75%) was found in 117/350 (33.4%) samples analyzed. CLDN18 expression correlated with age &lt, 70 (p = 0.0035), positive EBV status (p = 0.002), high stage (III, IV) at diagnosis (p = 0.003), peritoneal involvement (p &lt, 0.001) and lower incidence of liver metastases (p = 0.013). CLDN18 did not correlate with overall survival. The predictive value of response of CLDN18 to targeted agents is under investigation in several clinical trials and further studies will be needed to select patients who could benefit from these therapies.

Despite the spread of policy and business initiatives aiming at transitioning to a Circular Economy (CE), the concept is criticized in the scientific literature for its lack of emphasis on social contexts. Implementing CE initiatives to production systems can indeed lead to “unintended side effects,” that is, both rebound effects and other indirect shifts in consumption patterns. In this forum article we address the question: “How to make the unintended side effects of implementing CE initiatives knowable and actionable?” We argue that the ability of life cycle assessment (LCA) to address unintended side effects from CE initiatives is limited, as LCA can model how different product systems interact with each other, but does not attend to the socio-technical dynamics taking place within and across different life cycle phases. To extend the potential of LCA in supporting decision-making, our suggestion is to complement LCA with other types of analytical approaches, such as Practice Theory (PT) and Actor-Network Theory (ANT), which can improve our understanding of the unintended side effects of CE initiatives. These theories consider societal dynamics as socio-technical and focus on the processes and practices through which production and consumption dynamics change. Thus, they can provide analyses of whether and how CE initiatives are capable of realizing novel relations within/among socio-technical systems. Ultimately, they can provide explanations on why things end up the way they do, thus supporting LCA in the investigation of more "real" rather than ideal scenarios.

Growing Electric Vehicle (EV) markets and increasing focus on Circular Economy (CE) strategies have stimulated research in the modelling of EV battery repurposing as a special case of product re-use in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). This paper reviews the methods suggested in literature. Based on the results, the study proposes three types of LCA approaches on EV battery repurposing, taking the perspective of an automotive manufacturer in a CE context. Furthermore, the paper suggests a classification of EV battery repurposing cases depending on the chosen reference scenario and derives directions for future research.

Resources : open access journal 10(4), 32 (2021). doi:10.3390/resources10040032 special issue: "Special Issue "Life Cycle Sustainability Analysis of Resource Recovery from Waste Management Systems in a Circular Economy Perspective" / Special Issue Editors: Prof. Dr. Carlo Ingrao, Guest Editor; Prof. Dr. Claudia Arcidiacono, Guest Editor; Prof. Dr. Valentina Siracusa, Guest Editor; Prof. Dr. Monia Niero, Guest Editor; Prof. Dr. Marzia Traverso; Guest Editor", Published by MDPI, Basel

The debate on the identification of the most suited metrics for circular economy (CE) is open, no consensus has been reached yet on what CE indicators at product level should measure, which creates a subjective methodological framework for assessing CE strategies. In this study, we demonstrate that by coupling different types of indicators via Multi Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) it is possible to deal with conflicting situations where the selection of the best alternative can be biased by the choice of the metric. We use a beer packaging case, by simulating a situation where a company is interested in comparing the performances of different packaging from a CE perspective. We consider eight different beer packaging alternatives in two geographical contexts (United Kingdom and India). Two sets of indicators are coupled via MCDA: i) material circularity based- indicators, namely Material Reutilization Score and Material Circularity Indicator, and ii) a selection of life cycle based- indicators relevant for beer, i.e. climate change, abiotic resource depletion, acidification, particulate matter and water consumption. The results obtained by the application of the TOPSIS (Technique for Order by Similarity to Ideal Solution) method show that the different sets of indicators can be integrated and conflicts among them can be resolved. Overall, the application of different weighting scenarios does not change the ranking of the alternatives, thus confirming that the results are stable. Therefore, our proposal of coupling material circularity indicators with LCA indicators via MCDA can advance the assessment of CE strategies at the product level.

Purpose: Limiting exposure to potentially toxic chemicals in food packaging can lead to environmental impact trade-offs. No available tool, however, considers trade-offs between environmental impacts of packaging systems and exposure to potentially toxic chemicals in food packaging. This study therefore explores the research needs for extending life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) to include exposure to chemicals in food packaging. Methods: The LCIA framework for human toxicity was extended for the first time to include consumer exposure to chemicals in food packaging through the product intake fraction (PiF) metric. The related exposure pathway was added to LCIA without other modifications to the existing toxicity characterization framework used by USEtox®, i.e., effect factor derivation. The developed method was applied to a high impact polystyrene (HIPS) container case study with the functional unit of providing 1 kg of yogurt in single servings. Various exposure scenarios were considered, including an evidence-based scenario using concentration data and a migration model. Human toxicity impact scores in comparative toxic units (CTUh ) for the use stage were evaluated and then compared to human toxicity impact scores from a conventional LCIA methodology. Results and discussion: Data allowed toxicity characterization of use stage exposure to only seven chemicals in HIPS out of fourty-four identified. Data required were the initial concentration of chemicals in food packaging, chemical mass transfer from packaging into food, and relevant toxicity information. Toxicity characterization demonstrated that the combined CTUh for HIPS material acquisition, manufacturing, and disposal stages exceeded the toxicity scores related to consumer exposure to previously estimated concentrations of the seven characterizable chemicals in HIPS, by about two orders of magnitude. The CTUh associated with consumer exposure became relevant when migration was above 0.1% of the European regulatory levels. Results emphasize missing data for chemical concentrations in food contact materials and a need to expand the current USEtox method for effect factor derivation (e.g., to consider endocrine disruption, mixture toxicity, background exposure, and thresholds when relevant). Conclusions: An LCIA method was developed to include consumer exposure to chemicals in food packaging. Further study is required to assess realistic scenarios to inform decisions and policies, such as circular economy, which can lead to trade-offs between environmental impacts and potentially toxic chemicals in packaging. To apply the developed method, data regarding occurrence, concentration, and toxicity of chemicals in food packaging are needed. Revisiting the derivation of effect factors in future work could improve the interpretation of human toxicity impact scores.

Product/service‐systems (PSS) that focus on selling service and performance instead of products are often mentioned as means to realize a circular economy (CE), in which economic growth is decoupled from resource consumption. However, a PSS is no implicit guarantee for a CE, and CE strategies do not necessarily lead to decoupling economic growth from resource consumption in absolute terms. Absolute resource decoupling only occurs when the resource use declines, irrespective of the growth rate of the economic driver. In this forum paper, we propose a two‐step framework that aims to support analyses of PSS and their potential to lead to absolute resource decoupling. In the first step, we present four PSS enablers of relative resource reduction that qualify as CE strategies. In the second step, three subsequent requirements need to be met, in order to successfully achieve absolute resource decoupling. Conditions and limitations for this accomplishment are discussed. Danish textile cases are used to exemplify the framework elements and its application. We expect that the framework will challenge the debate on the necessary conditions for CE strategies to ensure absolute resource decoupling.

Despite the increasing interest of business and academic research toward Circular Economy, the investigation of its uptake by industry remains limited. To contribute to filling this gap, we perform a systematic review of 46 corporate sustainability reports in the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods sector aiming to explore how companies incorporate the Circular Economy concept in their sustainability agenda. We focus on (i) companies' uptake of Circular Economy, (ii) the relationship between Circular Economy and sustainability and (iii) the Circular Economy practices presented. Our results show that Circular Economy has started to be integrated into the corporate sustainability agenda. Most reported activities are oriented toward the main product and packaging, focusing on end-of-life management and sourcing strategies, and to a lesser extent on circular product design and business model strategies. Most identified collaborations are with businesses, whereas initiatives addressing consumers are largely missing although considered critical for the transition toward Circular Economy.

In their efforts to implement a circular economy (CE) for lithium-ion batteries (LIB) in electric vehicles, automotive manufacturers need to take into account the perspective of energy consumers when assessing the environmental benefits of LIB repurposing in life cycle assessment (LCA). In response to this issue, this study presents a novel LCA framework, which allows manufacturers to assess different cases of LIB repurposing in an energy system and interpret the results in a CE context. The framework firstly uses energy flow modelling to enable the assessment of combining different battery storage applications in multi-use cases. Secondly, it includes a comparison of repurposing with alternative circular business models options for LIB. The framework is applied to an automotive manufacturer, seeking to assess a real-world project of LIB repurposing in different combinations of behind-the-meter applications at an industrial production site in Germany. As a key outcome, results reveal that from the perspective of the energy consumer, climate change benefits in multi-use cases are 10–22% lower than in single applications. Furthermore, from the perspective of the automotive manufacturer, repurposing is identified as the most beneficial option of circular business models available for LIB, taking into account additional recycling benefits resulting from the delay of end-of-life. Based on these findings, the study contributes to the application of LCA for decision-making in a CE and highlights pitfalls and potentials for a sustainable implementation of LIB repurposing in the future.

The circular economy concept provides a key opportunity to address the challenge of resource scarcity for both policy makers and industries. Companies are urged to play their part and integrate circular economy in their business. However, little has been said about how implementation should occur and the consequences for the industry. This paper explores possibilities for the business implementation of a beverage producer's circular economy strategy, which consists in setting up a closed-loop supply of aluminum beverage cans. For this purpose, we develop a business model-inspired framework derived from literature on business models and circular economy, which we use to analyze the current business ecosystem for aluminum beverage cans in the UK.

The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals require industrial infrastructures to provide a positive impact on society by reducing waste generation and resource consumption. The enhancement and optimization of symbiotic aspects in industry clusters can support the achievement of such goals. The present paper illustrates a new quantification methodology to foster the implementation of industrial symbiosis within existing industry clusters. A Java tool has been developed to track and optimize material and energy flows within different symbiosis scenarios. The quantitative assessment is focused on identifying environmental, social and cost gains for specific Key Performance Indicators, considering a comprehensive Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA) perspective. Furthermore, multi-criteria optimization allows to identify heuristic solutions for symbiosis scenarios. The tool has been implemented with reference to a symbiosis case from the Steel Sector. Preliminary results evidence that industrial symbiosis and industrial sustainability are complementary but different areas. Moreover, concurrent applications of such paradigms introduce a number of new challenges and operational managerial issues to be addressed.

Summary As part of the Cradle to Cradle® (C2C) certification program, the C2C certification criterion, Renewable Energy and Carbon Management (RE&CM), focuses on use of electricity from renewable energy (RE) and direct greenhouse gas offsets in the manufacturing stage and, to a limited extent, on the cradle to gate only at the highest level of certification. The aim of this study is to provide decision makers with a quantified overview of possible limitations of that C2C certification requirement and potential gains by introducing a full life cycle assessment (LCA) perspective to the scheme. Scenario analysis was used to perform an LCA of an aluminum can system representing different levels of the C2C certification criterion, RE&CM, considering different strategies to achieve 100% RE in the manufacturing stage. The adoption of a broader life cycle RE perspective was considered through the implementation of electricity from renewable sources from cradle to grave. Our results show that compliance with the current RE&CM certification framework offers limited benefits, that is, significant reduction for climate change, but negligible reductions for other environmental impacts (e.g., particulate matter and acidification). However, increasing the share of RE in the primary aluminum production from a full life cycle perspective can greatly increase the environmental benefits brought up by the C2C certification not only for climate change, but also for the broader range of impact categories. In our striving toward environmental sustainability, which often cannot be approximated by climate-change impacts alone, we therefore recommend decision makers in industries to combine the C2C certification with LCA when they define strategies for the selection of RE and raw materials suppliers.

Summary Eco-efficiency (i.e., increasing value while reducing resource use and pollution) can with advantage be combined with eco-effectiveness (i.e., maximizing the benefits to ecological and economical systems) to address the challenges posed by the circular economy in the design of circular industrial systems. We present a framework combining life cycle assessment (LCA) and the Cradle to Cradle® (C2C) certification program for the development of continuous loop packaging systems, which was conceived for aluminum cans in the context of the Carlsberg Circular Community. As a first step, the environmentally optimal beverage packaging life cycle scenario is identified, both in terms of defined use and reuse. Second, the limiting factors are identified for the continuous use of materials in multiple loops, meeting the two requirements in the C2C certification process that address the material level (i.e., “material health” and “material reutilization” criteria) and the “renewable energy” criterion. Then, alternative scenarios are built to meet C2C certification criteria, and LCA is used to quantify the environmental impacts of the resulting improvement strategies, for example, change in material composition, in order to guide the identification of the optimal scenario from an eco-efficiency point of view. Finally, the business perspective is addressed by assessing the potential for a green value network business model for a closed-loop supply. The outcome is a list of prioritized actions needed to implement the most efficient and effective “upcycling” strategy for the beverage packaging, both from an environmental and an economic point of view. In the case of the aluminum cans, the main recommendation from both the LCA and C2C perspective is to ensure a system that enables can-to-can recycling.

In the past decades, industrial design practice and research have focused extensively on how to optimize production and consumption, as a way to prevent negative environmental impacts, such as resource depletion, pollution, and excessive waste. Recently, the &ldquo, circular economy&rdquo, concept is increasingly used to achieve environmental benefits and economic growth simultaneously. Industrial design can contribute to a circular economy by fostering systems changes to achieve durability, optimal reuse, refurbishment, remanufacturing, and recycling of products and materials. Indeed, researchers have examined both the theoretical and practical aspects of how design knowledge can support the transition to a circular economy. However, this body of knowledge has not been systematically analyzed yet. To address this critical gap, this paper poses the following question: How has industrial design research so far contributed to advancing the circular economy knowledge? Accordingly, we survey relevant design literature focusing on the circular economy, through a review of contributions published in 42 scientific journals. Based on our results, we discuss how industrial design practices can potentially contribute to a circular economy across four thematic areas: (1) design for circular production processes, (2) design for circular consumption, (3) design to support policy towards the circular economy, and (4) design education for the circular economy.

The environmental impact of packaging has already been studied since the early development of the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology, and today an extensive amount of studies exists. LCAs inform policy makers and guide companies in developing more environmentally sustainable packaging. From both a policy and a business perspective it is also relevant to understand what citizens and consumers recognize as being an environmentally sustainable packaging. Does perceived environmental sustainability align with the results of LCAs? And if not, where do consumers go wrong?In this study, we investigate how well-educated young consumers living in Denmark understand the environmental sustainability of five different kinds of packaging for liquid food (milk, beer, soft drink, olive oil and skinned tomatoes) based on an on-line survey and qualitative interviews. The results are compared with a streamlined LCA we performed for packaging of beer and soft drinks, and they are validated by means of comparative LCAs of these five product categories published in scientific literature.The results of the consumer research show that consumers assess the environmental sustainability of the tested types of packaging primarily based on the material type and on what they can personally do at the disposal stage. The consumers covered in this study do, in general, not consider the impacts of production and of transport. Amongst the investigated packaging types, bio-based types and glass are perceived as the most environmentally sustainable ones, and plastic in general is perceived least favourable. Laminated cartons receive a mixed perception. LCA results show that plastic – and especially laminated cartons – can be environmentally preferable solutions, even though they may be difficult to recycle. Our streamlined LCA on beer and soft drink shows that there is a significant difference in environmental performance between one-way glass and refillable glass, but consumers seem not to be aware of this difference. Our findings show i) that there is a gap between Danish consumers' perception of environmental sustainability of packaging and LCA results, and ii) that consumers have limited knowledge of sustainability-related eco-labels. In order to close these gaps, actions are needed both from producers, retailers and policy makers. The final aim of such improvement efforts should be to give to the consumers the possibility to make choices based on better information.

l presente lavoro nasce da un’iniziativa del gruppo di lavoro “Gestione e trattamento dei rifiuti” della Rete Italiana LCA. L’Associazione Rete Italiana LCA si pone come riferimento in Italia per i principali operatori in materia di Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), favorendo sia la diffusione della metodologia a livello nazionale, sia lo scambio di esperienze applicative tese a sostenere l’approccio del ciclo di vita. In questo contesto il gruppo di lavoro “Gestione e trattamento dei rifiuti” ha, tra i suoi scopi, quello di ampliare le conoscenze relative alla specificità della metodologia LCA applicata ai processi di gestione e di trattamento dei rifiuti. Lo studio proposto mira nello specifico ad individuare quali sono le possibili specificità e finalità dell’applicazione della metodologia LCA al settore dei rifiuti, attraverso la descrizione di casi applicativi.

Nitrate concentration and runoff are site-specific and driven by climatic factors and crop management. As such, nitrate emissions may increase in the future due to climate change, affecting the marine eutrophication mechanism. In this context, and considering the case of spring barley production in Denmark, the paper has two objectives: (i) to estimate the present and future marine eutrophication impacts by combining a novel Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) modelling approach with a quantification of the effects of climate change on its parameterisation, and (ii) to discuss the implications of different normalisation references when comparing future Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) scenarios with current production systems. A parameterised characterisation model was developed to gauge the influence of future climatic-driven pressures on the marine eutrophication impact pathway. Spatial differentiation was added to the resulting ‘present’ and ‘future’ characterisation factors (CFs) and calculated for the Baltic and North Sea. The temporal variability of both midpoint normalised impact scores and damage scores reflect a 34% and 28% increase of the CFs in the North Sea and Baltic Sea, respectively. The temporal variability is mostly explained by CF variation and increasing future nitrogen flows. The marine eutrophication indicator scores at both midpoint and damage levels suggest that the differentiation of impacts to various receiving (and potentially perturbed) ecosystems is relevant. Damage scores are quantified with a factor 2.5 and 2.3 differentiation between the Baltic (higher) and North Seas (lower) for the present and future scenarios, respectively. The comparison of the normalisation methods, either based on total annual impacts (domestic inventory of background interventions), on ecological carrying capacity, or on the presently proposed method, point to the value of adding spatial differentiation to LCIA models. The inclusion of time variation and spatial differentiation in characterisation modelling of marine eutrophication and the identification of a paucity of adequate inventory data for future scenario analysis constitute the main outcomes of this study. Further research should aim at reducing the uncertainty of the parameterisation under future conditions and strengthening emissions projections.

Packaging, representing the second largest source of aluminium scrap at global level, deserves a key role in the transition towards the circular economy. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of aluminium products has been typically based on one life cycle considering pure aluminium flows and neglecting the presence of alloying elements and impurities. However, this simplification undermines the potentials of using LCA to quantify the environmental performances of products in multiple loops, as required in the circular economy. This study aims to investigate the effects of including the actual alloy composition in the LCA of aluminium can production and recycling, in order to understand whether a can-to-can (i.e. closed product loop) recycling should be promoted or not. Mass balance of the main alloying elements (Mn, Si, Cu, Fe) was carried out at increasing levels of recycling rate, corresponding to a temporal interval of five years. Different aluminium packaging scrap sources were considered: mixed packaging aluminium scrap and used beverage can scrap. The outcomes of the mass balance were used to quantify the amount of Mn and primary Al that needs to be reintegrated in each scenario according to the recycling rate and this information was further used to perform an LCA of 30 loops of aluminium can production and recycling, based on the actual alloy composition. The LCA revealed that the closed product loop option (considering used beverage can scrap) has lower climate change impacts over the other recycling scenario using mixed Al packaging scrap. The main recommendation from an LCA methodological point of view is to include the idea of multiple co-functions in the functional unit definition. To further improve the environmental performances of the aluminium beverage can sector towards circular economy implementation the key actions are: to reduce the weight of the lid, to develop methods to separate the body and lid at the point of collection, and to investigate the potentials of a closed supply chain loop for aluminium cans in terms of combined environmental and economic value creation.

// Sabrina Rossi 1 , Marta Sbaraglia 1 , Marta Campo Dell’Orto 1 , Daniela Gasparotto 2 , Matilde Cacciatore 1 , Elena Boscato 1 , Valentina Carraro 1 , Luisa Toffolatti 1 , Giovanna Gallina 1 , Monia Niero 1 , Emanuela Pilozzi 3 , Alessandra Mandolesi 4 , Fausto Sessa 5 , Aurelio Sonzogni 6 , Cristina Mancini 7 , Guido Mazzoleni 8 , Salvatore Romeo 1 , Roberta Maestro 2,* and Angelo P. Dei Tos 1,* 1 Department of Pathology and Molecular Genetics, Treviso General Hospital, Treviso, Italy 2 Department of Experimental Oncology, CRO, Aviano, Italy 3 Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, University of Rome “La Sapienza”, Rome, Italy 4 Department of Pathology, University of Marche, Ancona School of Medicine, Ancona, Italy 5 Department of Pathology, Macchi Fondation, Varese, Italy 6 Department of Pathology, General Hospital, Bergamo, Italy 7 Department of Pathology, Azienda Ospedaliera-Universitaria, Parma, Italy 8 Department of Pathology, General Hospital, Bolzano, Italy * These authors have contributed equally to the work Correspondence to: Angelo P. Dei Tos, email: // Keywords : GIST, BRAF-mutated GIST, KIT/BRAF concomitant mutations, Imatinib resistance, BRAF VE1 antibody, Pathology Section Received : December 30, 2015 Accepted : April 04, 2016 Published : April 16, 2016 Abstract AIM: The BRAF mutation is a rare pathogenetic alternative to KIT/PDGFRA mutation in GIST and causes Imatinib resistance. A recent description of KIT and BRAF mutations co-occurring in an untreated GIST has challenged the concept of their being mutually exclusive and may account for ab initio resistance to Imatinib, even in the presence of Imatinib-sensitive KIT mutations. BRAF sequencing is generally limited to KIT/PDGFRA wild-type cases. Hence, the frequency of concomitant mutations may be underestimated. METHODS: We screened for KIT (exon 9, 11 ,13 ,17), PDGFRA (exon 12,14, 18) and BRAF (exon 15) mutations a series of 407 GIST. Additionally, we evaluated the BRAF V600E mutation-specific antibody, VE1, as a surrogate for V600E mutation, on a series of 313 GIST (24 on whole sections, 288 cases on tissue array), including 6 cases molecularly ascertained to carry the BRAF V600E mutation. RESULTS: No concomitant KIT / BRAF or PDGFRA / BRAF mutations were detected. BRAF mutation was detected only in one case, wild-type for KIT/PDGFRA. All the 6 BRAF -mutant cases stained positive with the VE1 antibody. A weak VE1 expression was observed in 14/287 (4.9%) BRAF wild-type cases, as observed also in 2/6 BRAF -mutant cases. Overall in our series, sensitivity and specificity of the VE1 antobody were 100% and 95.1%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The concomitance of BRAF mutation with either KIT or PDGFRA mutation is rare in GIST. In these tumors, moderate/strong VE1 immunoreactivity is a valuable surrogate for molecular analysis. Instead, genotyping is warranted in the presence of weak VE1 staining.

Some of the targets included in the UN Sustainable Development Goal 12 "ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns" are aligned with the circular economy vision of decoupling economic growth from resource constraints. However, only limited guidance is available to companies on how to make circular economy operational in their activities. The British Standard BS 8001:2017, "Framework for implementing the principles of the circular economy in organizations" provides guidelines to organizations in the transition towards a more circular and sustainable mode of operation. This paper discusses how the six principles and eight-stage flexible framework proposed in the standard can benefit by the integration with the Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment framework and what are the challenges for the food and drink sector. M. N. would like to thank the Carlsberg Foundation for funding the project "Absolute Circular Economy" (ACE) toolkit to support companies in the implementation of Circular Economy strategies from an Absolute environmental sustainability perspective. X.C.S.R would like to thank the University of Manchester Research Institute (UMRI) and the Centre for Sustainable Energy use in the Food supply chain (EPSRC grant no. EP/K011820/1) for funding this research.

Ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns is one of the 17 Global Goals set in the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The shift towards sustainable production and consumption patterns requires decoupling economic growth from resource constraints, i.e. a circular economy. The circular economy provides an alternative to the linear take-make-waste economic system, being an industrial system that is restorative or regenerative by intention and design. Packaging represents a large share of the material flows for many materials, therefore in a circular economy high priority is given to the packaging sector and to packaging waste management. Glass is one of the most effectively recycled materials in Europe. In 2014 the average glass recycling rate in the EU28 zone was equal to 74%. The majority of such glass goes back into making new packaging: glass stands alone as the most closed loop recycled food and drink packaging in the EU and in the world. However, recycling is not the only circularity strategy that applies to beverage glass, since also reuse can be an option, depending on the packaging waste collection system. Two different glass packaging systems are considered in the present study: the city of Bologna (IT) and the city of Copenhagen (DK). The main differences between the two systems are the options to recover glass bottle and the waste collection system. In Bologna, only one-way glass packaging is used and the glass packaging waste fraction is collected as part of the glass-metals fraction and sent to recycling. In Denmark, including Copenhagen, both refillable glass bottles and one-way bottles are sold. There is a deposit-return system (named DRS, Dansk Retursystem) that manages the collection of one-way and refillable packaging using a refundable deposit. We performed an environmental Life Cycle Costing (eLCC) of the production, purchasing and waste management of glass beer bottles in the two cities. Three main perspectives were considered: producers, consumers and waste management operators, with the aim to compare the economic performances of the two systems and to identify potential cost reductions.

This article summarizes the panel session “Life Cycle Management approaches to support Circular Economy” of the 8th International Conference on Life Cycle Management (LCM2017 conference, Luxembourg). Four panellists were invited to share their point of view on this topic. Each of them brought a different perspective, addressing the topic from both the academic and industrial point of view; focusing on a raw materials aspect or considering a life cycle (or eco-design) related scope; in the context of a certification process (for products or activities) or of an eco-innovation process (including new business models for circular economy). After short presentation by each of the panellists, the discussion especially addressed the complementarity between several LCM concepts to be considered jointly when developing circular concepts and models.

Barley is an ancient crop and a great source of nutrients. It is the third largest agricultural commodity produced in Denmark and represents a relevant crop in Italy too. Due to the increasing customers awareness of sustainability issues, it has become essential to evaluate the environmental impact and the use of resources in food production and distribution systems. However, especially in agriculture, difficulties are encountered when emissions from fertilisers and pesticides need to be modelled, due to a variety of modelling options and their dependency on the availability of site-specific information. How to address these difficulties might affect the results reliability. Hence, this study aims to evaluate, using the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology, the influence of different models for estimating emissions from fertilisers and pesticides on the environmental impacts of barley cultivation in Denmark and Italy. Two models for fertilisers and pesticides’ emissions have been applied; these differ on the extent of data requirements and complexity of calculation algorithms, which might increase the results accuracy and robustness. The results show that the modelling options do affect the environmental impacts of barley production, in particular climate change, eutrophication categories, acidification and freshwater eco-toxicity. This study estimates that the variations for such categories range from 15% in the case of climate change to 89% in the case of marine eutrophication. These findings highlight the importance of the emission modelling options as well as the constraints of data requirements, critical aspects when a LCA study on agricultural products is carried out. This work was supported by ERA-NET Cofund FACCE SURPLUS (Project BarPLUS: “Modifying canopy architecture and photosynthesis to maximize barley biomass and yield for different end-uses ” grant id. 93).

The role of the life cycle assessment (LCA) in the agrifood sector is widely recognised as an important tool that supports environmental decision-making. The main difference between agricultural and industrial studies is the need to evaluate output data from the natural processes that result from farming practices, especially fertilisation and pesticide treatments. Many LCA studies in the agrifood sector have been conducted on a large geographical scale (regional or national) and have considered data from multiple production years. The main goal of this research is to understand whether a study based on the LCA approach can support a single farm's comparative forecast evaluation of conventional and organic production based on primary data relative to a short time period and considering site-specific climate conditions. For this purpose, two operative steps were implemented: (i) a comparative environmental assessment of conventional and organic production within a simulated three-year cycle that tested the results through an uncertainty analysis and (ii) a sensitivity analysis to assess the influence of the geoclimatic factors on the impact assessment results. Primary data that reference a specific production year from an Italian farm situated in the Polesine area were considered. A “from cradle to farm gate” comparative LCA was performed, considering the conventional and organic production of barley and soybean. The influence of the spring rainfall index on the environmental assessment results was analysed with a sensitivity analysis by modelling 18 different scenarios. This research suggests that the annual variation in agricultural production must be considered when comparing organic and conventional farming. The spring rainfall index significantly influenced yields and, therefore, the comparative results, thus shifting the preference from one farming system to the other. This study confirms the usefulness of the methodological LCA approach, even for a single farm using historical data that related to a short period of time (e.g., one year). The results can be considered for provisional assumptions about the environmental impact assessment of different agricultural cycles (conventional or organic).

The continuously increasing solid waste generation worldwide calls for management strategies that integrate concerns for environmental sustainability. By quantifying environmental impacts of systems, life cycle assessment (LCA) is a tool, which can contribute to answer that call. But how, where and to which extent has it been applied to solid waste management systems (SWMSs) until now, and which lessons can be learnt from the findings of these LCA applications? To address these questions, we performed a critical review of 222 published LCA studies of SWMS. We first analysed the geographic distribution and found that the published studies have primarily been concentrated in Europe with little application in developing countries. In terms of technological coverage, they have largely overlooked application of LCA to waste prevention activities and to relevant waste types apart from household waste, e.g. construction and demolition waste. Waste management practitioners are thus encouraged to abridge these gaps in future applications of LCA. In addition to this contextual analysis, we also evaluated the findings of selected studies of good quality and found that there is little agreement in the conclusions among them. The strong dependence of each SWMS on local conditions, such as waste composition or energy system, prevents a meaningful generalisation of the LCA results as we find it in the waste hierarchy. We therefore recommend stakeholders in solid waste management to regard LCA as a tool, which, by its ability of capturing the local specific conditions in the modelling of environmental impacts and benefits of a SWMS, allows identifying critical problems and proposing improvement options adapted to the local specificities.

Purpose This study discusses the use of parameterization within the life cycle inventory (LCI) in the wooden pallet sector, in order to test the effectiveness of LCI parametric models to calculate the environmental impacts of similar products. Starting from a single case study, the objectives of this paper are (1) to develop a LCI parametric model adaptable to a range of wooden pallets, (2) to test this model with a reference product (non-reversible pallet with four-way blocks) and (3) to determine numerical correlations between the environmental impacts and the most significant LCI parameters; these correlations can be used to improve the design of new wooden pallets.

It is undisputed that the recycling of aluminium is desirable as long as the environmental and economic implications of its reintegration do not exceed the burdens of its primary production. The efficiency of any aluminium recycling system can be expressed by the total material losses throughout the entire process chain, ideally reaching 0%, thus equivalent to 100% metal recovery. However, in most cases metals are recycled in open/cascade recycling loop where dilution and quality losses occur. Innovations in aluminium beverage can (ABC) design as well as in sorting and recycling technologies have the potential to increase recyclability and avoid downcycling issues due to mixed alloy scrap streams. By means of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) seven scenarios, comprising specific systemic changes, are compared to the current recycling practice of the used beverage can in the UK. The End-of-Life modelling of recycling is performed in accordance with the equal share method to account for impacts both on the recyclability and the recycled content. The results confirm the primary aluminium production and energy consumption in the ABC production as the hotspots in the life cycle of the ABC. The toxicity and energy-related impact categories show the highest susceptibility to increasing recycled content and recycling rate, while the technological novelties show little effect. In terms of abiotic resource depletion the introduction of novel technologies could have the potential to retain quality of the aluminium alloys by either establishing dedicated waste streams or upgrading the aluminium scrap by dedicated sorting strategies.

This paper examines some of the most common frameworks available to companies in implementing circular economy strategies, i.e. the Cradle-to-Cradle design protocol, the Material Circularity Indicator and the Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment framework intended as a combination of Life Cycle Assessment, Environmental Life Cycle Costing and Social Life Cycle Assessment. We focus on the packaging sector and use the case of closed-loop aluminium can supply to illustrate the benefits and limitations of combining some of these frameworks. Our recommendation is to use the Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment framework to evaluate circularity strategies, since it is the most comprehensive and still operational framework and best at preventing burden shifting between stakeholders in the value chain.

At international level LCA is being increasingly used to objectively evaluate the performances of different Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) management solutions. One of the more important waste management options concerns MSW incineration. LCA is usually applied to existing incineration plants. In this study LCA methodology was applied to a new Italian incineration line, to facilitate the prediction, during the design phase, of its potential environmental impacts in terms of damage to human health, ecosystem quality and consumption of resources. The aim of the study was to analyse three different design alternatives: an incineration system with dry flue gas cleaning (without- and with-energy recovery) and one with wet flue gas cleaning. The last two technological solutions both incorporating facilities for energy recovery were compared. From the results of the study, the system with energy recovery and dry flue gas cleaning revealed lower environmental impacts in relation to the ecosystem quality. As LCA results are greatly affected by uncertainties of different types, the second part of the work provides for an uncertainty analysis aimed at detecting the extent output data from life cycle analysis are influenced by uncertainty of input data, and employs both qualitative (pedigree matrix) and quantitative methods (Monte Carlo analysis).

Purpose The life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) guidance flagship project of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)/Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) Life Cycle Initiative aims at providing global guidance and building scientific consensus on environmental LCIA indicators. This paper presents the progress made since 2013, preliminary results obtained for each impact category and the description of a rice life cycle assessment (LCA) case study designed to test and compare LCIA indicators. Methods The effort has been focused in a first stage on impacts of global warming, fine particulate matter emissions, water use and land use, plus cross-cutting issues and LCAbased footprints. The paper reports the process and progress and specific results obtained in the different task forces (TFs). Additionally, a rice LCA case study common to all TF has been developed. Three distinctly different scenarios of producing and cooking rice have been defined and underlined with life cycle inventory data. These LCAs help testing impact category indicators which are being developed and/or selected in the harmonisation process. The rice LCA case study further helps to ensure the practicality of the finally recommended impact category indicators. Results and discussion The global warming TF concludes that analysts should explore the sensitivity of LCA results to metrics other than GWP. The particulate matter TF attained initial guidance of how to include health effects from PM2.5 exposures consistently into LCIA. The biodiversity impacts of land use TF suggests to consider complementary metrics besides species richness for assessing biodiversity loss. The water use TF is evaluating two stress-based metrics, AWaRe and an alternative indicator by a stakeholder consultation. The cross-cutting issues TF agreed upon maintaining disabilityadjusted life years (DALY) as endpoint unit for the safeguard subject "human health". The footprint TF defined main attributes that should characterise all footprint indicators. "Rice cultivation" and "cooking" stages of the rice LCA case study contribute most to the environmental impacts assessed. Conclusions The results of the TF will be documented in white papers and some published in scientific journals. These white papers represent the input for the Pellston workshop ™, taking place inValencia, Spain, from24 to 29 January 2016, where best practice, harmonised LCIA indicators and an update on the general LCIA framework will be discussed and agreed on. With the diversity in results and the multi-tier supply chains, the rice LCA case study is well suited to test candidate recommended indicators and to ensure their applicability in common LCA case studies.

Despite their different scopes, both the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology and the Cradle to Cradle (C2C) Certified™ Product Standard can support companies in the implementation of circular economy strategies. Considering the case of aluminum cans, the objectives of this paper are twofold: (i) to compare the environmental impact associated with different levels of two C2C certification requirements by using LCA; and (ii) to identify the main challenges and drawbacks in the combined use of LCA and C2C for packaging within the circular economy framework. Twenty different scenarios were developed and compared, according to three C2C certification levels, in terms of % renewable energy and % recycled content. The results show that increasing the recycled content provides more improvements to environmental impacts than increasing renewable energy usage. Furthermore, receiving a higher certification level does not necessarily mean environmental burden reduction in LCA sense. From a methodological point of view, the main challenge for LCA is to address the continuous loop of materials and account for the benefits from recycling in a consistent way. Meanwhile for C2C the challenge is to guarantee a proper translation of the C2C principles into the C2C certification program, avoiding burden shifting and to find a balance between the different certification requirements.

Hazardous chemicals in packaging, including ‘eco-friendly’ and recycled food packaging, can migrate into food and expose humans. LCA has been fundamental to indicate more ‘eco-friendly’ packages, but currently LCA does not consider exposure to chemical migrants and methods have not yet been developed. In this study we question if exposure to chemicals in food packaging should be considered as a sustainable design consideration, i.e. if this human health risk is relevant in a life cycle context. To answer this question, we focus on developing methods to quantify exposure to chemicals in food packaging in a life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) framework. To put exposure during use in a life cycle context we perform a screening-level LCA of several life cycle stages of high impact polystyrene packaging (HIPS), with a functional unit of containing and delivering one kilogram of yogurt for consumption. For screening, we include exposure via environmental emissions from the production of the raw material HIPS, thermoforming into packaging, 14 day refrigeration by consumers, and disposal via incineration. The purpose of this screening is not to obtain a detailed and accurate LCA of HIPS but to provide life cycle context to compare the magnitude of characterized exposure to chemicals in packaging, in order to elucidate if this exposure pathway is important. We detail estimates of life cycle exposure to one known hazardous chemical in polystyrene packaging (styrene) that has data available on concentrations in yogurt packaged in HIPS and life cycle inventory releases. We also extend this analysis, given data limitations, to include exposure to three other chemicals in HIPS packaging through food. Given that data on concentrations of food packaging chemicals in food are often missing, we also explore methods to model the product intake fraction (PiF) as the fraction of chemical mass taken in through food packaging versus its initial mass in the food packaging. Results demonstrated that in the given cases consumer exposure to chemicals in packaging through consuming packaged food can be greater than population-level exposure mediated by the life cycle releases of such chemicals, even when only considering one or several chemicals in packaging that expose consumers. Occupational exposure was not consid ered in this study, but could be a focus of future work.Thus, this initial exploration indicates that exposure to chemicals in food packaging can be an essential consideration for burden shifting and quantifying design trade-offs in a life cycle context.

This chapter discusses the application of life cycle assessment methodologies to rice, wheat, corn and some of their derived products. Cereal product systems are vital for the production of commodities of worldwide importance that entail particular environmental hot spots originating from their widespread use and from their particular nature. It is thus important for tools such as life cycle assessment (LCA) to be tailored to such cereal systems in order to be used as a means of identifying the negative environmental effects of cereal products and highlighting possible pathways to overall environmental improvement in such systems. Following a brief introduction to the cereal sector and supply chain, this chapter reviews some of the current cereal-based life cycle thinking literature, with a particular emphasis on LCA. Next, an analysis of the LCA methodological issues emerging from the literature review is carried out. The following section of the chapter discusses some practices and approaches that should be considered when performing cereal-based LCAs in order to achieve the best possible results. Conclusions are drawn in the final part of the chapter and some indications are given of the main hot spots in the cereal supply chain.

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) can support policy makers in the choice of the most effective measures to adapt to climate change in crop production. A case study involving spring barley cultivation in Denmark under changed climate conditions has been performed using primary data from future climate scenarios. We developed and applied a 3-step procedure based on combined contribution, scenario and uncertainty analyses. This approach can be useful to deal with uncertainty in scenario analysis for LCA of crop production in a changed climate, when the goal of the study is to suggest strategies for adaptation of crop cultivation practices towards low environmental impacts.

When Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is used to provide insights on how to pursue future food demand, it faces the challenge to describe scenarios of the future in which the environmental impacts occur. In the case of future crop production, the effects of climate change should be considered. In this context, the objectives of this paper are two-fold: (i) to recommend an approach to deal with uncertainty in scenario analysis for LCA of crop production in a changed climate, when the goal of the study is to suggest strategies for adaptation of crop cultivation practices towards low environmental impacts, and (ii) to implement the suggested approach to spring barley cultivation in Denmark. First, the main implications of climate change for future crop cultivation are analyzed, and the factors which should be included when modeling the climate change effects on crops through LCA are introduced, namely climate, soil, water loss and production parameters. Secondly, the handling of these factors in the inventory modeling is discussed and finally implemented in the case study. Our approach follows a 3-step procedure consisting of: (1) definition of a baseline scenario at the Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) level for the selected crop and performance of Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) including normalization and contribution analysis, in order to identify the focus points in terms of impact categories, unit processes and substances; (2) identification of the main deviations from the baseline scenario for these key parameters in alternative future scenarios; (3) comparison of the different scenarios including quantification of the uncertainty at inventory level. The procedure presented was successfully implemented to assess the consequences of the changed climate on Danish spring barley cultivated under future climate conditions. The LCA results, obtained using mainly primary data from phytotron experiments mimicking a future Danish climate, emphasized that adaptation strategies should prioritize the development of resilient and stable cultivars, i.e. robust to the expected extremes of the future climate and offering a reasonable yield under different climatic conditions.

LCA methodology is time and resource consuming particularly when it comes to data collection and handling,therefore companies, particularly Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), are inclined to use streamlined approaches to shorten the resource-consuming life cycle inventory (LCI) phase. An effective way for speeding up the LCI definition of products with similar characteristics is provided by parametric LCI models. A parametric LCI model uses a defined set of parameters to describe the inventory flows through formulas instead of computed numbers in unit process datasets. We present a case study of a SME in the wooden pallet sector, investigating to what extent the use of parametric LCI models can be beneficial both in evaluating the environmental impacts of similar products and in providing a preliminary assessment of the potential environmental impacts of new products. We developed an LCI parametric model describing the LCI of a range of wooden pallets and tested its effectiveness with a reference product, namely a non-reversible pallet with four-way blocks. The identified parameters refer to the technical characteristics of the product system, e.g. the number and dimension of elements constituting the wooden pallet, as well as aspects of the manufacturing process, which are information already available to every company. Apart from applicability, the use of an LCI parametric model has also the advantage of flexibility, since the value of the parameters can be easily modified to consider changes in the design of the wooden pallets. Based on the results of the application of the LCI parametric model to a selection of different wooden pallets, we further determined numerical correlations between the environmental impacts and the most significant inventory parameters, i.e. mass of Wood and average distance for transport of wood. The definition of mathematical correlations between inventory data and environmental impacts can be used to inform product developers about the environmental performances of the product, therefore providing a streamlined approach to integrate LCA in the design process. This modelling approach can be replicated in other manufacturing sectors, provided the products being examined present similar characteristics.

Wastewater treatment has nowadays multiple functions and produces both clean effluents and sludge, which is increasingly seen as a resource rather than a waste product. Technological as well as management choices influence the performance of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) on the multiple functions. In this context, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) can determine what choices provide the best environmental performance. However, the assessment is not straightforward due to the intrinsic space and time-related variability of the wastewater treatment process. These challenges were addressed in a comparative LCA of four types of WWTPs, representative of mainstream treatment options in Denmark. The four plant types differ regarding size and treatment technology: aerobic versus anaerobic, chemical vs. combined chemical and biological. Trade-offs in their environmental performance were identified considering system expansion to model the avoided impacts achievable in different end-of-life scenarios for sludge: combustion with energy production versus agricultural application. To account for the variability in quality of effluents and sludge, and to address the related uncertainties, Monte Carlo simulation and sensitivity analysis were applied. Uncertainties related to the choice of Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) method and to the use of different data sources were also discussed. The results showed that, for the climate change and fossil depletion impact categories, recycling phosphorus to agricultural soils appear as a more sustainable alternative compared to the incineration of sludge. However, the uncertainty and sensitivity analysis showed that robust conclusions could not be drawn on the eutrophication and toxicity-related impact categories.

Objective. We studied circulating precursor cells (CPC) in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) with neuropathic foot lesions with or without critical limb ischemia and relationships between endothelial precursor cells (EPC) and peripheral neuropathy.Methods and Subjects. We measured peripheral blood CD34, CD133, and CD45 markers for CPC and KDR, CD31 markers for EPC by citofluorimetry and systemic neural nociceptor CGRP (calcitonin gene related protein) by ELISA in 8 healthy controls (C) and 62 T2DM patients: 14 with neuropathy (N), 20 with neuropathic foot lesions (N1), and 28 with neuroischemic recent revascularized (N2) foot lesions. Timing of lesions was: acute (until 6 weeks), healed, and not healed.Results. CD34+ and CD133+ were reduced in N, N1, and N2 versus C, and CD34+ were lower in N2 versus N1 (P=0.03). In N2 CD34+KDR+ remain elevated in healed versus chronic lesions and, in N1 CD133+31+ were elevated in acute lesions. CGRP was reduced in N2 and N1 versus C (P<0.04versus C26±2 pg/mL). CD34+KDR+ correlated in N2 with oximetry and negatively in N1 with CGRP.Conclusions. CD34+ CPC are reduced in diabetes with advanced complications and diabetic foot. CD34+KDR+ and CD31+133+ EPC differentiation could have a prognostic and therapeutic significance in the healing process of neuropathic and neuroischemic lesions.

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is increasingly used in waste management to identify strategies that prevent or minimise negative impacts on ecosystems, human health or natural resources. However, the quality of the provided support to decision- and policy-makers is strongly dependent on a proper conduct of the LCA. How has LCA been applied until now? Are there any inconsistencies in the past practice? To answer these questions, we draw on a critical review of 222 published LCA studies of solid waste management systems. We analyse the past practice against the ISO standard requirements and the ILCD Handbook guidelines for each major step within the goal definition, scope definition, inventory analysis, impact assessment, and interpretation phases of the methodology. Results show that malpractices exist in several aspects of the LCA with large differences across studies. Examples are a frequent neglect of the goal definition, a frequent lack of transparency and precision in the definition of the scope of the study, e.g. an unclear delimitation of the system boundaries, a truncated impact coverage, difficulties in capturing influential local specificities such as representative waste compositions into the inventory, and a frequent lack of essential sensitivity and uncertainty analyses. Many of these aspects are important for the reliability of the results. For each of them, we therefore provide detailed recommendations to practitioners of waste management LCAs.

Plastic represents a significant fraction of the total packaging waste, and its management is an important issue that should embrace recycling techniques for material recovery. Support decisions in the area of waste management can be made using the life cycle approach, which is commonly used to identify the environmental impacts of recycling and can give information to put environmental issues into a wide perspective. This study evaluates how much an innovative recyclable package is environmentally preferable to an alternative package that is not recyclable considering that both are produced from recycling post-consumer PET bottles. Two products were chosen to perform the study. The first product is a package produced with a multilayer film and whose end-of-life scenario includes land-filling and incineration. The second product is an innovative package produced employing a mono-material whose end-of-life scenario comprises recycling, land-filling and incineration. This study explains that the utilisation of recycled materials represents the initial effort to reduce environmental burdens and shows that using recycled materials combined with specific additives that assure the recyclability of the final product leads to a better environmental performance. The package produced employing a recyclable mono-material film is more environmental advisable than the multilayer for all of the impact categories analysed. The results obtained are also tested using a sensitivity analysis and an uncertainty analysis and confirm the results of the life cycle impact assessment. The study demonstrates the pertinence of the life cycle approach to assess whether a prevention activity to reduce waste production is actually environmental sustainable and to provide decision-making support in the field of packaging waste management.