Life cycle assessment of single-use biodegradable bags produced from cornderived biopolymer

Abstract

Single-use biodegradable bags have been recently introduced as an environmental-benign alternative to conventional plastics while addressing a prevailing global issue. Natural corn starch is often used as the key raw material due to the availability in large scale worldwide. Despite the view of the general public over biodegradable alternatives, existing studies regarding the life cycle emissions provide a result opposed to it as polythene is possible to recycle once or more. This study follows the cradle-to-gate life cycle approach focusing on the evaluation of environment emissions/eight impact potentials using the ReCiPe world (H) V1.12 impact assessment method in the SimaPro Life Cycle Assessment software while analysing the degradation pattern of each type with the aid of Scanning Electron Microscope. Key findings from this study quantify the current levels of environmental impacts that support future decision making for environmentally-benign innovative product from a possible alternative source.