@article{rybaczewskabaejowska2021plastic,
  title = {Are Plastic Pallets So Detrimental to The Environment Indeed?  Life Cycle Assessment of Eco-Innovative Plastic Pallet Solutions},
  author = {Magdalena RYBACZEWSKA-BŁAŻEJOWSKA},
  year = 2021,
  url = {https://ibimapublishing.com/p-articles/37ENV/2021/37109921/},
  journal = {Communications of International Proceedings},
  volume = 2021 (14),
  abstract = {The article examines the environmental impacts related to eco-innovative plastic pallets in reference to conventional plastic pallets through cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment (LCA). The product eco-innovations involve replacement of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) that the plastic pallets are made of by post-consumer polyethylene (r-PE) (in 30% and 50%), whereas the business process eco-innovations (related to production process) involve replacing fossil energy with renewable energy (in 50%).
The study illustrates that both product eco-innovative and production process eco-innovative plastic pallets offer considerable environmental benefits compared to conventional ones. Ad exemplum, if plastic pallets are made of post-consumer polyethylene (r-PE), their environmental impacts can be lowered within the range of: 1.86% (human toxicity) – 43.18% (fossil depletion). If renewable energy is included in the manufacturing process, the environmental savings are from 6.87% in the category of fossil depletion up to 90.69% in the category of freshwater eutrophication.
The research proves that, firstly, there is still some room for improvement of the plastic pallet portfolio and, secondly, the eco-innovative plastic pallets can support the development of a European market for recycled plastics and renewable energy. Taking into consideration the aforementioned arguments, in the near future, the eco-innovative plastic pallets can constitute an interesting, relatively sustainable complement to the commonly used wooden pallets.},
  keywords = {Life Cycle Assessment, Plastic Pallet, Product Eco-Innovation, Business Processes Eco-Innovations, Logistics},
  note = Article ID: 37109921
}