SUSTAINABLE DESIGN LIFECYCLE ANALYSIS PROCESS BOOK
ANNA LOWE
CONTENTS MARKET RESEARCH Project background & brief Buxton Water overview Consumer feedback
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
PRODUCT ANALYSIS
SUSTAINABLE REDESIGN
Packaging lifecycle
Packaging overview
Proposed design lifecycle
SolidWorks Sustainability
PET bottle results PE cap results
Proposed design overview
PVC label results Glass bottle results Pallet efficiency
Cap assembly results Foil label results Sustainability comparison Environmental savings
MARKET
Research
BOTTLED WATER The amount of bottled water consumed by the average person in the UK has been increasing year on year. This leads to an increasing use of virgin plastic as primary packaging for bottled water.
PROJECT BACKGROUND & BRIEF Year on year, the amount of bottled water consumed by people in the UK has risen. In 2014 the average person in the UK drank 8 litres more than they did in 2010. (1)
Nestle Waters saw a volume increase of 15% between 2014 and 2015.(2) Buxton water, a Nestle Waters brand, is one of the leading brands in the UK. This has been chosen to be the focus for the project.
While the product comprises of the water and the packaging, the project will focus only on the packaging. Nestle Waters reports suggest that packaging is a large contributor towards their carbon footprint.
32.5L per person
in 2010
2020 million litres
ÂŁ1.4 billion sales vaule (1)
BUXTON WATER OVERVIEW
40.6L per person in 2014
2580 million litres
£1.9 billion sales vaule (1)
Bottle packaging is made from PET plastic, which can be recycled (3)
Bottle packaging is always made from virgin plastic (3)
93% of Nestle Water products was sold in it’s country of origin (4)
Packaging represents 40% of one product’s GHG emissions (5)
80% of products were shipped directly from the factory to the customer (4)
Packaging represents 49% of one product’s non-renewable energy consumption (5)
CONSUMER FEEDBACK
“
I tend to buy a bottle while I’m out because it’s easy
Consumers were asked what they liked about bottled water so we could understand their motivations. Consumers were also asked if they had tried using a refillable water bottle and what their experience was.
“
“
I like the taste of bottled water, I think it’s refreshing
It’s just so easy to drink bottled water and it makes me feel healthy
“
”
”
I like bottled water for when I’m on-the-go
”
”
“
I always forget to fill it, so that it’s cold the next day
“
”
I don’t like carrying an empty bottle with me when I’ve finished
“ “
I prefer having a few bottles in the fridge at a time
”
I don’t like the effort of washing the bottle every time
”
”
Environmental
IMPACT
PLASTIC PACKAGING There is an impact to the environment at every stage of a bottle’s life. From sourcing raw material at the start and especially after the packaging has served it’s primary purpose.
PACKAGING LIFECYCLE
Below demonstrates the input required to create a tyical plastic bottle and it’s route during the lifecycle. The material value is usually lost after a single use.
Virgin plastic for all parts
1
2
Oil collection and reďŹ ning
4
Purch and us
72% of up in la
Assembly of components
3
hase se
5
Single-use and disposal
all plastic packaging ends andfill or our oceans (6)
SOLIDWORKS SUSTAINABILITY By using the intergrated sustainability tool, each component can be broken down and analysed. These values are for comparative purposes to assess the redesign. Solidworks assesses 4 key areas surrounding air, water, carbon footprint and energy consumed. To achieve these values Solidworks assesses the form of the CAD model and the material being used.
The manufacturing method can be selected, which will give estimated values of energy input. Similarly, country of origin and use can be selected, to estimate transportation energy.
AIR ACIDIFICATION Acidic emissions going in to the air cause an increase of acidicity in rain and water. This is detrimental to plants and aquatic life and can slowly errode buildings.
WATER EUTHROPHICATION Waste from water combined with the use agricultural fertilizer causes an overabundance of nurtients in the environment. This increases the amount of algae in water and leads to the depletion of animal and plant life.
CARBON FOOTPRINT Burning fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide and other gasses into the atmosphere. These gasses accumlate and cause the global temperature to increase, leading to global warming.
ENERGY CONSUMPTION The energy consumption measured is associated with the use of non-renewable resources. This includes the energy required process fuels and all the energy required for the manufacturing and distribution processes.
PRODUCT
Anaylsis
PRODUCT SUSTAINABILITY All aspects of a product play a part in sustainability. The most well-known aspect is material choice, however, factors such as the weight, form and design intent, can all improve a product’s sustainability.
PACKAGING OVERVIEW
PE BOTTLE CAP
PET BOTTLE
PE plastic is well suited for mass injection moulding at high speeds. This process can also achieve excellent quality on critical features, such as threads and seals.
PET is a high quality, food-grade material. This makes it an excellent choice for packaging beverage goods such as water.
Tamper evidence rings can be moulded as part of the cap for efficiency in manufacturing. One cap per bottle is not enough to contaminate recycled PET material, so this can be left on after use during recycling.
PET is also 100% recyclable after use, however the quality of recovered material degrades each time.
PET BOTTLE
PVC SHRINK LABEL
As water and soft drinks bottles are similar in form this makes them easily identifiable in a recycled waste stream. This gives the bottle more chance of being recycled.
Shrink sleeves are made in a continuous process. This process requires low energy input.
Blow moulding is an efficient process for creating medium-sized, hollow objects like bottles.
As the labels shrink around the bottle when heat is applied, no adhesvies are required. The labels are hard to sort and recycle as they are flexible, however, they can be removed before disposal.
PET BOTTLE RESULTS
MATERIAL END-OF-LIFE TRANSPORT MANUFACTURING
WATER EUTHROPHICATION 0.000063 kg PO4e
End-of-life has the biggest impact on water euthrophication due to the disposal routes being mostly landďŹ ll. The material itself contributes to this as it can last in the environment for so long.
CARBON FOOTPRINT 0.195 kg CO2e
ENERGY CONSUMED 4.3 MJ
AIR ACIDIFICATION 0.00042 kg SO2e
The plastic PET material is the biggest contributor, as it is derived from a non-renewable resource. However, the thin plastic walls make them light and good for transportation. They also require little energy input at end-of-life if disposed via landďŹ ll or incineration.
PE CAP RESULTS
MATERIAL END-OF-LIFE TRANSPORT MANUFACTURING
AIR ACIDIFICATION
0.000029 kg SO2e
Injection moulding requires a higher energy input than blow moulding and as the part uses only a small amount of material, this has the biggest impact.
CARBON FOOTPRINT 0.0096 kg CO2e
ENERGY CONSUMED 0.235 MJ
The plastic PE material is the biggest contributor as it derived from non-renewable resources. However, as plastic is lightweight, transportation has little impact. Additionally, little energy is required to dispose of the cap.
WATER EUTHROPHICATION
0.0000033 kg PO4e
End-of-life has the biggest impact on water euthrophication due to the disposal routes being mostly landďŹ ll. The material itself contributes to this as it can last in the environment for so long.
PVC LABEL RESULTS
MATERIAL END-OF-LIFE TRANSPORT MANUFACTURING
WATER EUTHROPHICATION
0.0000039 kg PO4e
End-of-life has the biggest impact on water euthrophication due to the disposal routes being mostly landďŹ ll. The material itself contributes to this as it can last in the environment for so long.
CARBON FOOTPRINT 0.010 kg CO2e
ENERGY CONSUMED 0.197 MJ
AIR ACIDIFICATION 0.000033 kg SO2e
The plastic PVC material is the biggest contributor as it is derived from non-renewable resources and is much harder to recycle than the bottle or cap. Creating shrink labels requires the least energy input of all the processes and therefore has less impact. However, as the weight is almost negligable, transportation has little impact.
PALLET EFFICIENCY WASTED SPACE During transportation bottles are placed next to each other on a pallet and then stacked on top of each other. For a pallet to be efficient, there should be as little empty space between bottles as possible. Due to consumer needs, there is space around the neck which cannot be filled during transportation and is therefore wasted.
25mm Perfect for drinking
65mm Perfect for holding
Sustainable
REDESIGN
REUSABLE COMPONENTS The propsed design intends to encourage re-use of the cap without inconviencing the consumer. Water will be purchased in glass bottles to oer choice and be easy to return & reďŹ ll or recycle.
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&
Re ямБll or Re cyc le
use Re-
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PROPSED DESIGN LIFECYCLE OVERVIEW Steps 1-3 illustrate the initial upfront investment of materials and energy usage. Beyond this, steps 4-7 show the potential loop for these components to no longer depend on non-renewable resources and be virtually zero-waste to landďŹ ll.
Sourcing materials
1
3
Manufacture of components
2
Assembly of components
4
Purchase cap and keep forever Re
-u
se
ca
p
Purchase in-store or online
5
Return & reďŹ ll or recycle
Remove label and attach cap
6
7
Use at home or on-the-go
PROPOSED DESIGN OVERVIEW
PE BOTTLE CAP
GLASS BOTTLE
The bottle cap is a 3-part hinge assembly, which is strong and durable, to last the same amount of time as a refillable bottle cap.
Blow moulding glass requires a high energy input, however, it is an infinitely recyclable material as it does not degrade when recycled.
This is the only component a consumer will keep and reuse, which reduces the amount of washing and effort required.
Glass can be easily seperated for recycling as it can be broken into large pieces and other material can be sifted out.(7)
There is the potential to offer a variety of caps in various colours.
GLASS BOTTLE
ALUMINIUM FOIL LABEL
The neck size of the bottle is similar to the body of the bottle. This reduces the amount of wasted space on a pallet during transportation.
A foil top is only the diameter of the neck, therefore the surface area of the label has been significantly reduced.
Glass bottles can be moulded into different forms to give shelf differentiation like plastic bottles.
The label acts as tamper evidence feature which consumers are already familar with. This also removes the need to sell bottles with caps. As the label is a seperate component, it is still easy to change and update product information.
GLASS BOTTLE RESULTS
MATERIAL END-OF-LIFE TRANSPORT MANUFACTURING
CARBON FOOTPRINT 0.779 kg CO2e
ENERGY CONSUMED 9.1 MJ
AIR ACIDIFICATION
WATER EUTHROPHICATION
0.0034 kg SO2e
0.0003 kg PO4e
Although the resources for glass is plentiful, it is a non-renewable source.(8) Therefore, for all aspects, the material has the biggest impact. Blow moulding glass requires more energy than plastic and the impact is bigger. Glass is also a heavy material, so transporting has a sizeable impact in all areas
PE CAP ASSEMBLY RESULTS
MATERIAL END-OF-LIFE TRANSPORT MANUFACTURING
AIR ACIDIFICATION
0.00029 kg SO2e
Injection moulding requires a high energy input and due to the size of the parts, this is even high.
CARBON FOOTPRINT 0.077 kg CO2e
ENERGY CONSUMED 2.49 MJ
The plastic PE material is the biggest contributor as it dervied from non-renewable resources. However, the manufacturing is a signiďŹ cant factor too as there are more parts and they are bigger.
WATER EUTHROPHICATION 0.000018 kg PO4e
Due to the design intention of the part encouraging reuse, the biggest impacts for water is the material and the manufacturing.
FOIL LABEL RESULTS
MATERIAL END-OF-LIFE TRANSPORT MANUFACTURING
CARBON FOOTPRINT 0.015 kg CO2e
ENERGY CONSUMED 0.186 MJ
AIR ACIDIFICATION 0.000098 kg SO2e
WATER EUTHROPHICATION 0.0000033 kg PO4e
As with the PVC label manufacture and application require little energy. The material for the aluminum foil label has the biggest impact as it is a component to recycle after use. The foil top will most likely be thrown away with general waste, however, due to it’s size the impact from end-of-life is relatively small compared to other factors.
SUSTAINABILITY COMPARISON
Comparing each area gives different ratios, therefore the worst case scenario has been presented below,
At worst 1 new cap is worth 13 current caps
This means the cap can be considered more sustainable as it will last far beyond 13 use
At worst 1 glass bottle is worth 8 plastic bottles
On average milk bottles are refilled 13 times before they are recycled, this means 1 glas bottle will have more uses than it’s plastic equivalen (9)
The foil cap and PVC label are worth almost the same
It is still thrown away but can be considered sustainable as it removes the neep for a ca
s.
1 = 13
s.
1= 8
e.
1= 1
es.
ss nt.
ap.
IN ONE YEAR......
ENVIRONMENTAL SAVINGS In 2014 the average a person drank 40.6L of bottled water. At worst case this would require 80 50Cl plastic bottles. By choosing this system, a single consumer could make a substantial difference to the amount of bottled water related waste. A resuable cap is more convenient for a user, requires less washing, and could be taken
on-the-go. Consumers can still benefit from a choice of branded water and stock up in the same way they do now. Once empty, returning or recycling the bottles will benefit the environment.
7 reďŹ llable bottles can achieve the same as
80 plastic bottles
1 resusable cap could save
67 plastic caps
REFERENCES
1 2 3
British Soft Drinks Association,. Changing Tastes. London: N.p., 2015. Print. The UK Soft Drink Annual Report 2015. http://www.britishsoftdrinks.com/write/mediauploads/publications/bsda_annual_report_2015.pdf [web access: 14 mar. 2017]
4
“Bottled Water Distribution Facts”. Nestle Waters - The Healthy Hydration Company. N.p., 2017. http://www. nestle-waters.com/creating-shared-value/environmental-performance/distribution [Web access: 14 Mar. 2017.]
5 6
“Bottled Water Packaging”. Nestle Waters - The Healthy Hydration Company. N.p., 2017. http://www.nestlewaters.com/creating-shared-value/environmental-performance/packaging [Web access: 14 Mar. 2017.]
7 8 9
Martin, Kirsty. (Waste Awareness Officer) Sorting And Recycling Household Waste. 2016. in person. Gillmoss MRF, Bridgehouse Lane, Liverpool.
MINTEL,. Bottled Water - UK - March 2016. Mintel, 2016. Print. Bottled Water. “Recycling Plastic Bottles”. Nestle Waters - The Healthy Hydration Company. N.p., 2017. http://www.nestlewaters.com/creating-shared-value/recycling-more [Web access: 14 Mar. 2017.]
Ellen MacArthur Foundation,. The New Plastics Economy. 2016. Print. Rethinking The Future Of Plastics. https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/assets/downloads/EllenMacArthurFoundation_ TheNewPlasticsEconomy_15-3-16.pdf [Web access: 14 Mar. 2017.]
Dickson,. “Glass Vs Plastic Bottles For Milk - What’s The Best Packaging”. Drink Milk In Glass Bottles. N.p., 2017. Web. 16 Mar. 2017. WRAP,. Refillable Glass Beverage Container Systems In The UK. 2008. Print. http://www.wrap.org.uk/sites/files/wrap/Refillable%20glass%20beverage%20systems%20-%20FINAL1.pdf [Web access: 14 Mar. 2017.] All images used are commercially free courtesy of PixaBay