Modeling the carbon footprint in the life cycle of PET and glass packaging for beverages

Abstract

This study presents a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) comparing the carbon footprint (CF) of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and glass beverage packaging. The analysis focuses on disposable glass, returnable glass, and PET bottles, using one packaging cycle as the functional unit to ensure comparability across systems with varying reuse and recycling characteristics. Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) was applied to simulate process variability using stochastic real-world parameters collected from beverage producers and distributors in Poland. Environmental impacts were assessed across the full life cycle, including production, distribution, and end-of-life phases.

A unified recovery factor was introduced to integrate reuse (for returnable glass), material recycling (all packaging), and energy recovery (for PET), enabling consistent simulation of emission reductions. Results show a strong inverse correlation between CF and recovery rates. Returnable glass bottles offer the greatest potential for CF reduction, up to five times under high return rates, while PET benefits from low material weight and moderate recovery. Disposable glass exhibits the highest CF due to the energy intensity of virgin and cullet-based production.

The findings highlight the importance of improving return and recycling systems to reduce emissions. The model also allows extrapolation to EU-level scenarios by applying country-specific recovery rates. This research provides relevant guidance for manufacturers and policymakers aiming to reduce packaging-related impacts in line with circular economy goals and EU waste directives. The integration of BPMN with LCA offers a novel, flexible simulation framework for evaluating packaging strategies and optimizing recovery performance.