Comparison of bacon packaging on a life cycle basis: a case study

•Environmental footprint of two different bacon package systems were analyzed on a life cycle basis.•New bacon package (OLB) shows lower environmental burden than traditional bacon package (L-board).•The main environmental burden reduction was due to the change of the bacon board material from paper and wax to EPS and OPP.

This study was conducted to compare the environmental effect of weight reduction and different material composition of packages using life cycle analysis of a traditional bacon package (L-board bacon package) compared to a new light weighted bacon package (OLB bacon package). A sensitivity analysis of the main components for the L-board and OLB bacon package is included to confirm either the potential environmental benefits obtained by weight reduction of the traditional bacon package or changing packaging materials. The L-board bacon package is composed of polyethylene/wax coated paper/polyethylene with an overwrap pouch. The new lightweight OLB-board bacon package is composed of reverse printed oriented polypropylene/expanded polystyrene with adhesive, along with a lighter weight overwrap pouch. Environmental impacts were characterized by life cycle assessment with SimaPro software. The general principles, framework of this study, goal and scope definition of the problem, inventory analysis, and interpretation of the results were conducting according to the ISO 14040 family of standards. The new light weighted OLB-board bacon package shows lower environmental burden than the traditional bacon package in most impact indicators, except the mineral extraction indicator. Based on a sensitivity analysis, it was found that changing the material of the original bacon package reduces more the environmental burden of the final bacon package than reducing the weight of the original bacon board material.

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