Towards a sustainable business model for plastic shopping bag management in Sweden

Singh, J ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9215-0166 and Cooper, T ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8623-2918, 2017. Towards a sustainable business model for plastic shopping bag management in Sweden. Procedia CIRP, 61, pp. 679-684. ISSN 2212-8271

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Abstract

From an environmental perspective, a separate collection and recycling system for post-consumer discards could contribute to improved environmental protection as well as economic benefits. This paper investigates the environmental potential of a business model proposed in Sweden in order to improve the utilization of plastic shopping bags. The business model aims to reduce the consumption of plastic shopping bags and to collect and recycle discarded bags more effectively. Results from a life cycle assessment show that the proposed system could significantly reduce the carbon, energy and water footprints of the current system, even for very pessimistic scenarios for bag purchase and recovery rates. However, wider implementation of the proposed business model depends on the accessibility of the deposit/collection system, acceptance of such a 'take-back' system by retail managers, greater environmental awareness among customers and regulatory mechanisms.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	Procedia CIRP
Creators:	Singh, J. and Cooper, T.
Publisher:	Elsevier
Date:	19 April 2017
Volume:	61
ISSN:	2212-8271
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1016/j.procir.2016.11.268 DOI S221282711730001X Publisher Item Identifier
Divisions:	Schools > School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment
Record created by:	Jonathan Gallacher
Date Added:	26 Jun 2017 10:19
Last Modified:	12 Jul 2017 08:19
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/31074

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