The ijca method can be used to evaluate whether the packaging materials are green packaging materials. LCA (life cycle analysis), namely “life cycle analysis method”. The definition of LCA by the international organization for Standardization (ISO) is: the method to summarize and evaluate the environmental impact and potential impact of all inputs and outputs of a product (or service) system throughout its life cycle. The method points out that the evaluation of environmental performance of packaging products (packaging materials, packaging technology) can not only be evaluated from the impact of packaging waste on the environment, but also from the whole life cycle of packaging products, that is, the whole process of raw materials extraction, production and processing, transportation, sales, use, reuse or recycling, and finally treatment, should be used to evaluate the packaging production Environmental performance of the product. This analysis method can be used for comparative analysis to evaluate who has the best environmental performance among several kinds of packaging products; it can also be used as the whole process analysis of a product to seek the environmental impact of each link in the whole process, so as to adjust our industrial policy, technical policy, production process and material selection.
For example, the choice of beverage is reusable glass bottle or disposable metal can? People often only notice the moment when they are discarded after consumption, so it is easy to judge that glass bottles are more conducive to the environment than cans – but consumption and abandonment are only one link in the whole life cycle of these packaging containers, and their respective raw materials are mined and added The impact on the environment should be taken into account in all aspects, such as the production of containers, the transportation and distribution of packaged food to consumers, and even how to store the packaged food in the consumer’s home.
So, LCA method is to solve: which mining of quartz (glass bottle raw material) and bauxite (raw material of pop can) is the most destructive to the environment? Which one of glass melting, bottle preparation, bauxite electrolysis and can preparation consumes the most energy, and what is the impact of each on the environment? How to evaluate the impact of more energy consumption in air return transportation on sustainable development ? glass bottled milk needs to be refrigerated from the factory to the home. How to evaluate the impact of energy consumption on the greenhouse effect and the impact of gases emitted from refrigeration on ozone? So on. Through the comprehensive analysis of LCA above, it is decided to choose the reusable glass bottle or disposable metal can.
