It is incredible to think about the significance of a tube of
toothpaste and its impact on the environment. For a product so simple,
completing a life cycle impact analysis (LCA) is quite complex. The act of
brushing your teeth is something that nearly everyone does: it is both socially
and hygienically expected of you to do. It also requires you to use a certain
amount of water. Most accessible toothpaste varieties include many chemicals,
and some even contain micro-beads, which can’t always be filtered out of the
water supply. Producing and transporting
this toothpaste also uses significant amounts of resources and releases pollutants.
To effectively create a LCA for Aquafresh fluoride toothpaste, we would need to
evaluate the life cycle from extraction, production, transportation, use and
last disposal of a single tube of toothpaste.
The ingredients used in toothpaste are mostly chemicals, and
although I’m sure their life cycle is harmful, these materials were not listed
in Okala’s LCA bill of materials chart. So for this product analysis, I will
focus on the packaging tube itself, which also contains many chemicals. There
are multiple layers of polyethylene used for its sealing properties, and opalescent
polyethylene is used for a flexible base material and white color. Vapor
deposited PET is included for rigidity, ability to maintain shape and moisture
barrier properties (AICELLO, pg.1). Polyethylene itself is created by modifying natural gas or the
catalytic cracking of crude oil into gasoline (LePoutre, pg.1). This is not a good beginning to
this tube’s lifecycle. Suppliers for Aquafresh are located all throughout Europe (and I'm sure other continents as well), and the toothpaste is
sold all over the world, leaving an immense transportation impact. On top of
all that, it is not recyclable.
Product: A Toothpaste Tube
System boundary: Analysis of the tube alone, not the toothpaste
inside of it or use of the toothpaste.
Functional unit: One tube, approximately 2 ounces in weight.
Lifespan: Approximately four months
SBOM:
Total tube
weight = 2 oz. = 0.125 lbs
Composition:
PET, amorphous, primary = 1.8/lb * 0.06 = .108
Aluminum, primary = 13/lb * 0.05= .65
EVA, primary= 1.3/lb * 0.01= .013
Sealing tape= 0.18/lb *0.005= .0009
White pigment=2.8/lb*0.06=.168
Processing:
Injection molding= 0.72/lb*.725=.522
Aluminum milling= 9.9/lb*0.05=.495
Transportation:
Intercontinental air freight= 1.6/ton-mi*.125= 0.2
Disposal:
Polyethylenes in controlled landfill 0.3/lb*(.06+.01) =0.021
Total: 2.1779 LCA impact factor points
This may not seem like a large impact number, but remember this is
only a 2 oz. piece of packaging. There is room for improvement in the use of recycled products, mode of transport, and extension of product life through design for disassembly and recyclability.
New design with reduced impact:
Using recycled polyethylene products would make improvements in
the life cycle analysis of a tube of toothpaste. However, I’m not sure that
this would make the product actually recyclable. I think that the “tube” design
of toothpaste may need to be eliminated altogether. If a glass container with a
recyclable or reusable dispenser, designed in a shape where the toothpaste
would be funneled to the dispenser so not to be wasted, the product could be recyclable
and eliminate the many plastics and processes included in the toothpaste tube.
If possible, it could even be sold in a box with a free shipping label so that
it could be returned for free and reused by the manufacturer. A glass jar keeps the toothpaste preserved and contained naturally, and does not need the plastics and chemicals included traditionally.
Product: Glass toothpaste container with recyclable dispenser
Functional unit: One container, about one pound in weight.
Lifespan: About 4 months, but recyclable or reusable at end of its
life.
SBOM:
Composition:
Bottled Glass, sec (clear recycled glass) =.38/lb*0.95 =0.361
HDPE, secondary (recycled hard plastic that is recyclable by some)
= 1.2/lb*0.05= 0.06
Aluminum, secondary (metal spring in dispenser)= 0.55*0.0001=0.00055
Processing:
Injection molding = 0.72/lb*0.05 = 0.036
Transportation:
Ocean freighter= 0.053/ton-mi *1 = 0.053
Disposal:
Glass = recyclable
Polyethylene (HDPE) 0.3/lb*0.05= 0.015
New Total: 0.525055 =~0.525 LCA impact factor points
Works Cited:
AICELLO. "What is polyethylene laminating film (sealant laminating film)?." Suzulon L: Sealant Laminating Film. AICELLO, n.d. Web. 14 May 2015. <http://www.suzulon-l.com/PE_laminating_film.html>.
AICELLO. "What is polyethylene laminating film (sealant laminating film)?." Suzulon L: Sealant Laminating Film. AICELLO, n.d. Web. 14 May 2015. <http://www.suzulon-l.com/PE_laminating_film.html>.
LePoutre, Priscilla. "The Manufacture of Polyethylene." Transpak Industries Ltd., n.d. Web. 14 May 2015. <http://nzic.org.nz/ChemProcesses/polymers/10J.pdf>.
