Life Cycle Design of Milk and Juice Packaging

摘要

The primary objective of this project was to develop design metrics andguidelines for environmental improvement of milk and juice packaging systems. Material production energy accounted for a large portion of the total life cycle energy for these systems. Conversely, postconsumer waste was responsible for a majority of their life cycle solid waste generation. Packaging systems were also evaluated with respect to key performance criteria, life cycle costs, and regulatory trends at the local, state, and national levels. Environmental preferable containers were identified, and tradeoffs and correlations between design criteria were highlighted.