10.2.2

Comparative Life Cycle Assessments

Test yourself

Comparative Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs)

LCAs allow us to compare the environmental impact of different products. For example, we can compare the environmental impact of plastic and paper bags:

Illustrative background for Plastic bagsIllustrative background for Plastic bags ?? "content

Plastic bags

  • On the surface, plastic bags would seem to have a more significant impact on the environment due to the pollution they cause.
Illustrative background for Paper bagsIllustrative background for Paper bags ?? "content

Paper bags

  • By examining what actually happens at each stage of the product life cycles, LCAs have shown that paper bags may actually be more harmful.
  • This is because their manufacture requires more energy and their lifespan is far shorter.

Jump to other topics

1Atomic Structure

2Chemical Bonding

3Quantitative Chemistry

4Chemical Changes

5Energy Changes

6The Rate & Extent of Chemical Change

7Organic Chemistry

8Chemical Analysis

9Chemistry of the Atmosphere

10Using Resources

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