COMBINING LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL LIFE CYCLE COSTING: THE CASE OF ALUMINIUM CANS IN A CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Abstract

The circular economy is not only about resource scarcity and environmental impact, but also about economic benefit, therefore the success of circularity strategies should be assessed not only considering the environmental impacts, but also in terms of economic implications. This study considered two different aluminium beverage can systems: Bologna Metropolitan City Area and the Urban Area of Copenhagen. We performed a combined Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and environmental Life Cycle Costing (ELCC) of the purchasing, production and waste management of aluminium beverage cans in the two areas. Three main perspectives were considered for both LCA and ELCC: consumers, producers and waste management operators, with the aim to compare the environmental and economic performances of the two systems and to identify potential misalignment in the integrated LCA-ELCC analysis. The comparative analysis of aluminium cans production, use, collection and recycling in the two systems showed that the best option from an environmental point of view is also leading to higher costs. Therefore, the main learning is that trade-offs between environmental benefits and economic costs need to be considered in the assessment of circularity strategies.