Is bio-labeled material always environmentally friendly? Investigation of 5 types of shopping bags in Indonesia by impact assessment

Abstract

From the outdated understanding, bio-labeled materials seem always environmentally friendly even though it does not necessarily true. A new approach by impact assessment should be performed to meet sustainability. It examines the impact from its cradle, gate, and grave. In this study, an impact assessment was conducted for 5 types of shopping bags that are often used in Indonesia, i.e. virgin HDPE plastic, oxo-biodegradable plastic, goodie bag, bioplastic, and recycled plastic, in a sequential term. The analysis started with raw material, production process, product distribution and storage, product usage, and disposal/recycling. The functional unit was based on 1 kg of product. Based on the results, the total energy requirements are 6.16 kWh/kg, 6.17 kWh/kg, 6.16 kWh/kg, 12.04 kWh/kg, and 1.10 kWh/kg. Meanwhile, global warming potential as CO2 equivalent is 4.80 kg/kg, 4.81 kg/kg, 4.80 kg/kg, 10.43 kg/kg, and 0.80 kg/kg. Although bioplastic is easy to degrade in the landfill, it consumes intense land use and water requirements compared to other types of plastic. Therefore, it is summarized that the most environmentally friendly plastic is recycled plastic and then followed by virgin HDPE plastic, oxo-biodegradable plastic, goodie bag, and bioplastic. Consequently, bio-labeled materials are not always more environmentally friendly than others.