O. Jolliet et al., LIFE-CYCLE ANALYSIS OF BIODEGRADABLE PACKING MATERIALS COMPARED WITH POLYSTYRENE CHIPS - THE CASE OF POPCORN, Agriculture, ecosystems & environment, 49(3), 1994, pp. 253-266
Popcorn as a packing material was examined as an alternative to polyst
yrene chips on the basis of energy requirements and load of pollutants
to air, water and soil. The analysis included maize production, popco
rn manufacture and disposal of the waste packing (by incineration) to
generate heat. Popcorn production requires 2.0-3.3 times less energy t
han polystyrene chips and causes 2.6-4.7 lower air pollutant emissions
per kilogram of packing material. However, as popcorn is 4.6 times de
nser than polystyrene chips, emissions to the air per cubic metre of p
acking material range from 0% (if the material is composted after use)
to 80% (if maize is imported from the USA) higher for popcorn than fo
r polystyrene. Popcorn packing production causes more water pollution
than polystyrene because of drainage of nitrates, phosphates and pesti
cides to the ground water. If, in the future, popcorn or other bio-pro
ducts are to be used as environment friendly packing materials, their
volumetric weight will have to be reduced by increasing the expansion
factor, which will reduce the density and hence the transport and post
age costs.