Life Cycle Assessment of Virgin and Recycled Polypropylene Kitchenware in the UK: Impacts of Domestic Recycling, International Supply Chains, and Consumer Use

Abstract

This study evaluates the cradle-to-grave environmental performance of polypropylene (PP) kitchenware in the United Kingdom (UK), addressing critical gaps in understanding how material choices, global supply chains, domestic recycling, and consumer use-phase practices interact. Four scenarios were assessed using life cycle assessment (LCA) modelling: virgin PP (vPP) manufactured in China and Germany, recycled PP (rPP) produced in the UK, and a 50:50 vPP–rPP blend. Environmental impacts evaluated using the ReCiPe 2016 Midpoint (H) and IPCC 2021 GWP100 showed that under the modelled scenarios, UK-produced rPP reduces global warming potential (GWP) by about 53% compared with imported vPP, and by 22% compared with UK-manufactured vPP from Germany, driven by avoided virgin polymer production, the absence of long-distance shipping and end-of-life recycling. Toxicity-related impacts revealed trade-offs associated with recycling processes. The rPP product reduced terrestrial ecotoxicity and human non-carcinogenic toxicity by approximately 36% and 16% relative to imported vPP, demonstrating rPP’s potential to reduce toxicity-related impacts. Consumer use-phase practices (routine household dishwashing) contributed substantially to lifecycle impacts, becoming the dominant life cycle stage (30-64% of GWP) as material-related impacts were reduced. The study demonstrates that the environmental performance of consumer plastics requires integrated consideration of material systems efficiency, geography, supply-chain arrangements, recycling infrastructure, and consumer behaviour. Such an approach can promote circularity in polymer value chains, with the potential to generate substantial environmental, economic, technical and social benefits.