Biodegradable polymers for cosmetic packaging: A technical and life cycle perspective

Abstract

The packaging industry is a significant contributor to the plastic pollution burdening our environment. One main issue with plastics is that they are designed to be durable, and so they persevere in the environment even after they have fulfilled their use. This study aims to analyse the potential benefits of switching to biodegradable and biobased polymers in the cosmetic packaging industry to lessen their environmental impact once disposed of. This assessment commenced with a sustainable material selection process to shortlist a set of viable biodegradable candidate materials (polylactic acid and wood plastic composites), for cosmetic compacts and then comparing them to acrylonitrile butadiene styrene as the benchmark material for this application. The functional, environmental and cost implications of such a change were quantified to validate the suitability of using biodegradable polymers. Functionally, polylactic acid and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene only passed the testing conducted making wood plastic composites an unviable option. wood plastic composites and polylactic acid were found to cost 40-53 per cent more than acrylonitrile butadiene styrene. In terms of the environmental impact, polylactic acid and wood plastic composites reduced the lifecycle impact by 18-30 per cent and the end-of-life impact by 26-42 per cent. The results obtained suggest great potential in shifting to such an alternative.