Paper Cup
ABSTRACT
This report is a life cycle analysis of the STARBUCKS paper cups that are made from polyethylene and composite paper consisting of 90% virgin paper board
Life Cycle Analysis
and 10% post-consumer paper. After diving deep into researching its manufacturing and impact on the environment, I proposed a redesign
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Instructor: Heidrun Mumper-Drumm
strategy to create a more sustainable packaging concept from production to end-of-life recycling.
Table of Content
1
LCA - Current Scope Functional Units Cueebnt Dbsign Peocbss Tebe Invbntoey Mateix & Impact Mateix (wood fiber Invbntoey Mateix & Impact Mateix (pbteolbum7
2
Goal & Strategy
3
LCA - Re esign Scope Functional Units Peocbss Tebe Invbntoey Mateix & Impact Mateix (wood fibe7
4
Conclusion
5
References
01 Scope ThislLCAlanalysislhaslcoveredlthelpackagingldesignloflthelStarbuckslpaperl cupslfromlthelinitiallstageloflrawlmaterialslcollecting,lsupplier,lmanufacturing,l distribution,landlconsumptionltolthelendlofllife.lUnfortunately,lthelsupplyl chainlofleachlplotloflthelproductionlprocedureslvarieslbecauseloflthellabor,l locallregulation,ltransportation,landlotherluncontrollablelfactors,lsolthelcostl maylchangelaccordingly.lAndlthislstudylwouldlonlylfocuslonlthelVentilsizel paperlcuplandlhaslnotlincludedlthelcoffeelsectionldueltolthelvariousl categoriesloflthelcaffeinelbeverageslofferedlatlstoreslacrossllocations8 AndlthelLCAlanalysislislbasedlonlthelproductlIlreceivedlfromlalStarbucksl storelinlCalifornia,lsolIlamlreferencinglthelgenerallconditionloflthelprocedurel forlin-personlusage.
0 c o
AlWUloz.lhotlbeveragelholder,lmadelofltwolmaterialsElwoodlfberlpulplandl petroleum,lkeepslthelcontentlwarmlforl<-Wlhourslwhilelmaintaininglanl accessibleltemperaturelforlcustomersltolholdlbutlentirelylgoeslintollandflll afterlconsumption.
Impact per unit of product service
=
Impact ___________________ 100 cups of coffee
03 Current Design
Starbucks paper cups are used as containers for the Starbucks coffee. 16g petroleum paper cup for 20 oz. capacity 4g plastic coffee cap 5g paper sleeve 1g plastic splash stic(
04 Process Tree This LCA analysis goes with the process tree for the current design where wood fber and petroleum are evenly introduced alongside the entire procedure¨ ased on the ones that I got from the Starbucks store in California, United States, the process tree would focus on this system¨ And it can not be used as a representative for other circumstances.
No.
1
Stages
Raw Materials Around 357,000,000 trees are cut every year to produce all of Starbucks ' polyethylene paper cups Shannon 49. The paper layer consists of 0% virgin paper board and 10% post-consumer paper Luna 89. International Paper has multiple sources for trees, and they buy from private owners in the US and own trees inland in Brazil and Russia.
Supplier 2
The kinetic energy from machines cuts, grabs, and transports the trees, which are then sent to be debarked, chipped, and converted into pulp. The polyethylene layer is made out of a mixture of ethylene and Benz-aldehyde Paxton 19. Ethylene and Benz-aldehyde are mixed to make polyethylene, which is either combined with the paper pulp to be paper cups or pushed to other components, including plastic caps and splash sticks. The polyethylene is poured into a pelletizer, where it_s turned into pellets till they are heated with thermal energy to be shaped to produce whatever is desired Paxton 59. By preparing raw materials, about “ 000-12000 kg of steam, 60-1000 kw/h of power from electricity, and 50m3 cooling water” will be used per ton of raw materials.
Manufacturing 3
Large roles of pulp manufactured by Mississippi River Corporation will be sent to International Paper, which will convert the pulp into paper. The paper machine turns the wet pulp mixes into the new paper rolls, which are then fed through a converter machine and a printing machine to get the iconic green Starbucks logo printed on the paper board. The sleeves are made of pulp impurities and get printed similarly. And typically, the plastic layer is loaded on a conveyor belt under the in uence of blades and press, forming a lid of the necessary shape and diameter.
Distribution / Retail 4
Keys Energy
Air Pollution
Seed
GHG Emissions
Water
Water Waste
Gasoline
Sand/Dirt/Dust
Transportation
Solid Waste
Ink Electricity
5
Once the Starbucks paper cups are made, they need to pass the quality check before delivering to Starbucks locations nationwide, where they wait to have coffee poured into them to be served to a coffee customer. All those components are randomly selected from a sample, after which it is examined for leaks or ruptures in the bonded material. In case the problem is detected, the whole line is stopped and investigated.
Purchase / Use About 80% of the cups will make their way out of the Starbucks coffee house, where the majority of them will end up in the landfll Bouchard 9.
End-of-life 6
Polyethylene paper cups are “special” in most of the world; they are not recyclable or compostable. The polyethylene lining must be removed from the paper lining since they are two different materials and undergo various processes to be recycled or composted. The majority of transfer stations worldwide do not have the infrastructure to remove the polyethylene lining. But even if a transfer station had the infrastructure, they would still not want to recycle polyethylene cups since recycling them is not costeiffcient anyway.
P
Wood FIBER & PULP
Petroleum
1
Ethylene
Wood Growing &
Benz-aldehyde
Harvesting Recycled Paper
Polyethylene
Roug[ Machining Wood
Pelletizing to Pellets
2
Pulping
Heating
Convert & Consolidate
Patterning
3
Drying & Printing
Forming Shapes through belting & pressing
LidsÀSleevesÀSplash Sticks
Paper Cups
Qualifying & Packing
4
Distribution
Use 5
Post-Consumption
Wearing
Collecting
6
Decompose
Landfll
05 Inventory Matrix Wood FIBER & PULP Material Input
Energy
Waste & Emissions
Raw Material Extraction
seed, fertilizer, Water
Fuel, Electricity
Emissions to air, GHG emissions, Emissions to soil, Sand, Dirt, Dust
Material Processing
Recycled paper pulp, Water chemicals
Fuel, Electricity
Emissions to air, GHG emissions, waste chemicals
Component ManuØacturing
bleaching Water, ink, chemicals, adhesive
Electricity
Emissions to air, GHG emissions, Hazardous Waste
Assembly & Pacâaging
bleaching Water, ink, chemicals, adhesive
Electricity
packaging waste
Distribution & Purcóase
gasoline cup components
Electricity
Emissions to air, GHG emissions, shipping Waste
Installation & Use
N/A
N/A
N/A
Maintenance & Upgrading
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
Cycle: Recyclin g
DEPOSABLE PAPER LAYERS
Electricity
solid waste Sand, Dirt, Dust
Cycle: Disposa l
gasoline cup components
Fuel, Electricity
Emissions to air, GHG emissions, solid waste Sand, Dirt, Dust
Cycle: Reus e
(product/components)
(materials)
(incineration/landAll)
Impact Assessment Matrix Resource Depletion
Global Warming
Ozone Layer Depletion
Acid Rain
Solid Waste
Land Degradation
Positive
Water Polution
Air Polution
Neutral Negative
Reduced Biodiversity
06 Inventory Matrix Petroleum Material Input
Energy
Waste & Emissions
Raw Material Extraction
chemicals, Water
Fuel, Electricity
Emissions to air, GHG emissions, Sand, Dirt, Dust
Material Processing
Water chemicals
Fuel, Electricity
Emissions to air, GHG emissions, waste chemicals
Component Manu:acturing
chemicals, pellets, adhesive
Electricity
Emissions to air, GHG emissions, Hazardous Waste
Assembly & PacDaging
adhesive
Electricity
pacúaging waste
Distribution & PurcUase
gasoline cup components
Electricity
Emissions to air, GHG emissions, shipping Waste
Installation & Use
N/A
N/A
N/A
Maintenance & Upgrading
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
compound
Fuel, Electricity
Emissions to air, GHG emissions, Hazardous waste Sand, Dirt, Dust
Cycle Reus (product/components)
Cycle Recyclin (materials)
Cycle Disposaª (incineration/land ll)
Impact Assessment Matrix Resource Depletion
Global Warming
Ozone Layer Depletion
Acid Rain
Solid Waste
Land Degradation
Positive
Water Polution
Air Polution
Neutral Negative
Reduced Biodiversity
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08 Scope (new) The redesign assumes that the new sustainable manufacturing procedure for Starbucks paper cups will be able to reduce a large number of solid wastes and hazardous chemicals compared to the linear material economr that Starbucks used to ha e. owe er, the brand recognition and o erall strle change accordinglr but still show the brand identitr. And the redesign uses wood fber pulpppaperr as the primarr material for all the components that ensure the functional units while keeping the whole process circular.
0@ ><;c=8o;6B 4;8=9 (new) A 2] oz. hot be erage holder, made of onlr one material - wood fber pulp, but in different shapes, keeps the content warm for 1-2 hours while maintaining an accessible temperature for customers to hold. Most of the materials used to construct a single cup can be recrcled.
Impact per unit of product service
=
Impact ___________________ 100 cups of coffee
10 Process Tree (new) This LCA analysis also provided the process tree for the redesign proposal, where only wood fier is introduced alongside the entire procedure. And this redesign only focuses on the Venti size paper cup. It has not included the coffee section due to the various categories of caffeine ieverages offered at stores across locations.
Process
Wood FIBER & PULP Wood Growing & Harvesting Recycled Paper
Roug¹ Machining Wood Pulping Convert & Consolidate Patterning
Keys Energy
Drying & Printing Forming Shapes through belting & pressing
Seed Water
Paper Caps
Gasoline
Stickers
Qualifying & Packing
Transportation
Distribution
Ink
Use
ElePtriPity Air Pollution
Paper Cups
PostëConsumption
GHG Emissions
Wearing Collecting
Water Waste
Decompose
Sand/Dirt/Dust Solid Waste
Landfll
Recycling
11 Inventory Matrix (new) Wood FIBER & PULP
Material Input
Energy
Waste & Emissions
Raw Material Extraction
seed, fertilizer, Water
Fuel, Electricity
Emissions to air, GHG emissions, Emissions to soil, Sand, Dirt, Dust
Material Processing
Recycled paper pulp, Water chemicals
Fuel, Electricity
Emissions to air, GHG emissions, waste chemicals
Component ManuÚacturing
bleaching Water, ink, chemicals, adhesive
Electricity
Emissions to air, GHG emissions, Hazardous Waste
Assembly & Pacäaging
bleaching Water, ink, chemicals, adhesive
Electricity
packaging waste
Distribution & Purcõase
gasoline cup components
Electricity
Emissions to air, GHG emissions, shipping Waste
Installation & Use
N/A
N/A
N/A
Maintenance & Upgrading
N/A
N/A
N/A
Cycle: Reus e
N/A
N/A
N/A
Cycle: Recyclin g
DEPOSABLE PAPER LAYERS
Electricity
N/A
gasoline
Fuel, Electricity
Emissions to air, GHG emissions, solid waste Sand, Dirt, Dust
(product/components)
(materials)
Cycle: Disposa l (incineration/landAll)
Impact Assessment Matrix (new) Positive
Resource
Global
Depletion
Warming
Ozone Layer Depletion
Acid Rain
Neutral
Negative
Solid
Land
Water
Air
Reduced
Waste
Degradation
Polution
Polution
Biodiversity
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13 References “Starbucks Paper Cups - Design Life.” Cycle, www.designlife-cycle.com/ starbucks-paper-cups. Holding, Dr. Ashley. “Starbucks' Compostable Coffee Cup Gamble.” The Circular Laboratory, 17 Aug. 2021, thecircularlaboratory.com/starbuckscompostable-coffee-cup-gamble. "Air Emissions." International Paper - Air Emissions. International Paper, 2010. Web. 09 Mar. 2013. Fruergaard, Thilde, Tomas Astrup, and Thomas Ekvall. "Energy use and recovery in waste management and implications for accounting of greenhouse gases and global warming contributions." Waste Management & Research 27.8 (2009): 724-737. "Goals & Progress: Cup Recycling." Goals & Progress: Cup Recycling. Starbucks, n.d. Web. 09 Mar. 2013. "International Paper - Solid Waste." Solid Waste. International Paper, 2011. Web. 09 Mar. 2013. Maimoun, Mousa A., et al. "Emissions from US waste collection vehicles."Waste Management (2013). Manfredi, Simone, et al. "Land<lling of waste: accounting of greenhouse gases and global warming contributions." Waste Management & Research 27.8 (2009): 825-836. Narang, Sonia. "Carbon With That Latte?" Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 07 July 2003. Web. 09 Mar. 2013. Oches, Sam. "Starbucks Pushes For 100 Percent Recyclable Cups - QSR Magazine." Starbucks Pushes For 100 Percent Recyclable Cups - QSR Magazine. Journalistic Inc., 2013. Web. 10 Mar. 2013. Report of the Starbucks Coffee Company/ Alliance for Environmental Innovation Joint Task Force. Rep. Boston: Alliance for Environmental Innovation, 2000. Print. "Solid Waste." International Paper- Solid Waste. International Paper, 2011. Web. 09 Mar. 2013.