LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT ON ALUMINIUM CAN AND GLASS BOTTLE FOR PACKAGING OF 500 ml BEER

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) addresses the environmental aspects and potential

environmental impacts (e.g. use of resource and the environmental consequence of releases)

through a product’s life cycle from raw material acquisition through production, use, end-oflife

treatment, recycling and final disposal (ISO14040). Here the analysis is performed on the

basis of environmental impact of the product from cradle to gate through which we can

compare that, glass bottle or aluminum can which option is greener for beer packaging.

Reasons for carrying out the study: Aluminium is very energy intensive, this is because the mining of the bauxite and the

process of alumina and aluminium are far more energy intensive than other glass materials

and emits more greenhouse gases. However aluminium has an advantage that it has light

weight, so its transportation cost is lesser than glass bottle in terms of fuel consumption.

At the same time glass bottles can be recycled up to certain numbers. So without LCA it

is very difficult to assess the environmental impact of the two different products and

choice of greener options.

Its intended applications: The outcome of the study is to compare the environmental impact of two different

products, glass bottle and aluminum can for packaging of 500ml beer. Further, it will help

us to understand the requirement and potentiality of Irish packaging industry. This report

is also going to focus on the opportunities available for the Irish beer production industries.

The target audiences: Environmental protection agency (EPA), Planning commission, Agriculture & Food

department, Irish beer companies are intended audience. It will also help the government

to build policies for food packaging sectors.

Comparison: This study intends to have a reference for future comparisons in order to evaluate the

evolution of the sector. To compare the products it is preferable to compare apples with

apples. That means comparison has been performed with a glass bottle and a beer can which is associated to carry 500ml of beer. The comparison will focus on greenhouse gas emissions, fossil fuel consumption and water consumption related to the above mentioned

products.