Environmental Impact and Circularity of Plastic Film Scrap Recovery and Valorization

Recovery and valorization of scraps generated during product manufacturing represent a crucial opportunity for material consumption efficiency, reducing the demand for virgin resources and minimizing waste production. Life cycle assessment (LCA) analysis provides a quantitative evaluation of the environmental benefits arising from scrap management strategies. However, the lack of a unified methodology for LCA modeling prevents unambiguous conclusions. This work addresses this topic by focusing on post-industrial scrap management in a real industrial scenario of plastic packaging production, where scrap is collected, regranulated, and either internally re-used or sold to other companies. Environmental impacts are evaluated by exploring different LCA modeling approaches (the Cut-off method, the closed-loop approximation, and the Circular Footprint Formula approach). At the same time, the system circularity is evaluated using specific indicators. Results highlight that impacts are highly influenced by the chosen LCA methodology and, moreover, the environmental sustainability and circularity might not always be aligned.