Life cycle assessments

• A life-cycle assessment attempts to put a number on the environmental impact of a product. This is done by assessing the environmental impact of extracting and processing the raw materials e.g. plastics and metals
• Polymers such as plastics are produced using crude oil. The oil has to be extracted from the ground and then transported to oil refineries. These hydrocarbons have to be separated and then cracked, and finally, the polymer has to be produced. These processes take a large amount of energy that will most likely be generated by burning fossil fuels
• As well as plastics, extracting metals also takes a huge amount of energy. The ore has to be dug out of the mine and transported for processing, followed by the extraction of the metal from the ore, leading to the production of large amounts of toxic waste products.
• After the production of raw materials, they are manufactured, packaged and transported. All of these stages will require energy and may release harmful waste products.
• The final stage of a product's lifecycle is its disposal. If it can be recycled, this process requires energy and may produce waste products. However, if it cannot be recycled, it goes into landfill or incineration which produces methane gas (a greenhouse gas).