Life Cycle Assessment recycled acrylic (PMMA)

Recycled content in plastic products is becoming increasingly important and, within a number of industries, eventually even mandatory! Ecoras was commissioned by Pyrasied Xtreme Acrylic to research the environmental impact of an acrylic product that consists largely of pre- and post-consumer waste.

Pyrasied wants to better serve the European market and also larger Dutch firms with the often requested environmental impact information and evidence of the recycled input material. Increasingly, clients are asking for environmental impact scores of products they purchase.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of the production of Ecocrylic sheets on the environment and to obtain information for the preparation of an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD). This assessment included all activities from obtaining the raw materials to the last product distribution activity (cradle-to-gate analysis). Focus was placed on CO2 (equivalent) emissions, water consumption, ReCiPe impact indicators and energy use in the production of Ecocrylic sheets. The SimaPro software was used for the impact calculation and for reporting and implementation the guidelines within ISO 14044/40 (2016) were consulted & followed.

The LCA reporting and EPD provides insight into the environmental impact hotspots in the production chain. This environmental performance data is also of great value to buyers of PyraSied products. The results are presented in an EPD format, which is publicly accessible and can be found on the Environdec website.

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