A preliminary environmental assessment of foil and metallized film centered laminates

This study investigated the potential environmental impacts of three industrial used barrier films, namely, aluminum foil, metallized oriented polypropylene (MOPP) and metallized polyethylene terephthalate (MPET). These three materials are the most commonly used barrier materials in flexible packaging applications. But little to no data is available to compare the environment impact between these three high-volume and fast-moving materials. With the use of SimaPro 8, the environmental impacts of three laminates, centered with aluminum foil, MOPP and MPET, were assessed over the raw material, processing, and end of life phases. The use phase was assessed in part to facilitate recommendation and interpretations. Compared to the aluminum foil centered laminate, the metallized polymer centered laminates reduced impact to metal depletion by 71% for the MOPP laminate and 52% for the MPET laminate. Fossil depletion was reduced by 21% for both metallized polymer laminates and global warming potential is half that of the aluminum foil laminate. Non-renewable embodied energy was reduced by 25-26% compared to foil. The findings will help food and flexible packaging companies visualize environment impacts of the three barrier alternatives in addition to performance and cost.