Recycling environmental footprint

Urban agriculture Local agriculture Food security Lower prices Less environmental footprint Less transportation Local production and use Mitigates climate change Recycles wastes Provides employment De Bon et al. (2009) Miah and Hussein (2009)... 

The preceding section shows how it is possible to deerease the quantity of synthetic polymer while retaining the same fimetional properties. In this way the environmental footprint is diminished, but the produets are still not amenable to recycling processes because of the cross-linking chemistry used in the silicone phase. The feet feat these silicone coatings may be used for their barrier properties should motivate a transition toward this important area of packaging. 

Recyclability and sustainability All PO-based plastic interior or exterior part systems, theoretically at least, allow potentially easier recovery and reuse of components or shredder "fluff" when a vehicle s lifetime is over. Reduced environmental footprints are also being sought with the use of plant-based fillers and fibers for plastics. 

Minerals-, materials-, energy-, and water-efficient manufacturing and recycling with a minimal environmental footprint. 

The number of steps in this process is also being reduced, and the need for granulation is seen as unnecessary in some instances Ahlstrom uses a direct recycling extmder to produce nonwovens directly from waste and trim nonwoven material without the intermediate step of producing pellets. This reduces the need to transport and melt the product twice thus, this process results in a significantiy reduced environmental footprint for both the operations and final product (Ahlstrom, 2011). However, for nonthermoplastic fibres, this process is not possible, and alternative reuse streams must be sought. 

The use of petrochemicals continues to dominate the synthetics nonwoven market and shows little signs of changing, despite an increased market share for bioplastics. The ease of recycling these products through municipal streams means that the hfe cycle impact of PP, PE and PET products and processes is significantly reduced. However, the sourcing of these materials from petrochemicals remains a concern, and there has been an increase in the use of plant-based synthetics, notably PLA. The reuse of consumer waste, in particular, PET bottles, as a means of producing nonwoven materials is a more sustainable approach and reduces the environmental footprint of both the nonwoven and the source materials. 

Therefore, whether we measme the footprint we leave on the environment or whether we implement solutions to reduce it, we are at the forefront of the industry. The Joint Research Center considers us to be a privileged partner. But owing to a lack of communication on the subject, our citizens imagine us devoid of environmental awareness and a sense of responsibility. It is trae that in France, the interest of our industry to the environment is recent. Without doubt this is the cause of our delay in recycling and waste treatment compared with Northern Europe. With respect to the media environment, unfavorable to the plastics, it increases the lack of visibility of our actions. 

OLR of pre-consumer waste also has environmental benefits. An LCA conducted by Muthu et al. (2012a) concluded that the recycling of pre-consumer textile waste, or process waste, would directly lower the carbon footprint of the product However, not all textiles have the same environmental benefits when recycled. In developing their RecyclabiUty Potential Index assessing both environmental and economic benefits to recycling, Muthu et al. (2012b) found that polyester and polypropylene are ranked highest in recyclability with nylon 6,6 ranked last... 

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