life-cycle assessment

• What is a lifecycle assessment?

  A lifecycle assessment attempts to quantify the environmental impact of a product.
• What are the four main stages of a lifecycle assessment?

  1. Assessing the environmental impact of extracting and processing raw materials.
  2. Manufacturing, packaging, and transporting the product.
  3. Assessing the environmental impact during the product's lifetime.
  4. Assessing the disposal of the product at the end of its useful life.
• What is the first stage in a lifecycle assessment?

  Assessing the environmental impact of extracting and processing raw materials.
• What is required to produce plastics from crude oil?

  The oil must be extracted, transported, refined, separated, cracked, and then polymerized.
• What is a significant environmental concern when extracting metals?

  It can produce large amounts of toxic waste products.
• What is a potential environmental impact of batteries used in toys?

  Producing batteries releases a large amount of toxic waste.
• What happens to harmful chemicals in modern products at the end of their life?

  They must be disposed of carefully, which may require a lot of energy.
• What are plastic bags produced from?

  Chemicals from crude oil.
• What are paper bags made from?

  Wood from trees.
• Why are crude oil and trees different in terms of renewability?

  Crude oil is a non-renewable resource, while trees are renewable.
• What is a significant environmental impact of felling trees for wood?

  It is extremely destructive to habitats such as forests.
• What is a drawback of paper bags compared to plastic bags?

  Paper bags are not as strong and tend to tear easily.
• Why do both plastic and paper bags require energy for transportation?

  They must be transported for recycling or to landfills.
• How do paper bags compare to plastic bags in terms of breakdown?

  Paper bags break down quickly, especially when wet.
• What is a major problem with plastic bags regarding biodegradability?

  Plastic bags are non-biodegradable and do not break down easily.
• What is a significant issue with lifecycle assessments?

  We cannot always be certain how damaging certain impacts are to the environment.
• What can bias lifecycle assessments?

  They can be biased to support claims made by advertisers.
• What are the problems associated with lifecycle assessments?

  • Uncertainty in measuring environmental damage.
  • Need for estimates or value judgments that may not be accurate.
  • Potential bias to support advertising claims.