Life cycle environmental impact assessment of cotton recycling and the benefits of a Take-Back system

IF 5.4 Q1 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES Resources, conservation & recycling advances Pub Date : 2023-08-23 DOI:10.1016/j.rcradv.2023.200177

Shimul Roy , Ying Yi Jodie Chu , Shauhrat S. Chopra

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Abstract

This study assessed the contribution of mechanically recycled cotton to reducing environmental impacts of fabric production by blending the recycled cotton with 100% virgin cotton of different types, including the U.S., BCI-Brazilian, Global average, and China. GHG emissions, water footprint, air pollution, and land use were investigated for producing 1 kg fabric, considering a 'cradle-to-gate' approach. A 'Take-Back' system was modeled using the circular economy concept to illustrate potential impact reduction by avoiding virgin cotton. Impact reduction scenarios were created considering varying blending ratios (i.e., virgin/ recycled), focusing on 70% virgin and 30% recycled cotton (target). Results reveal that compared to the baseline impacts, the target scenario could reduce environmental impacts by 2.2–8.6% (GHG emissions), 0.6–24.5% (water footprint), 1.4–11.6% (air pollution), and 3.1–25.2% (land use). In summary, recycled cotton could partially substitute 100% virgin cotton for fabric production. Besides, implementing and scaling up the 'Take-Back' system could reduce environmental impacts and contribute to environmental sustainability.

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棉花回收的生命周期环境影响评估和回收系统的效益

本研究通过将再生棉与包括美国、巴西BCI、全球平均水平和中国在内的不同类型的100%原棉混合，评估了机械再生棉对减少织物生产对环境影响的贡献。考虑到“从摇篮到大门”的方法，对生产1公斤织物的GHG排放、水足迹、空气污染和土地利用进行了调查。使用循环经济概念对“收回”系统进行建模，以说明通过避免使用原棉来减少潜在影响。考虑到不同的混合比例（即原始棉/再生棉），创建了减少影响的情景，重点是70%的原始棉和30%的再生棉（目标）。结果表明，与基线影响相比，目标情景可以减少2.2-8.6%（温室气体排放）、0.6-24.5%（水足迹）、1.4-11.6%（空气污染）和3.1-25.2%（土地利用）的环境影响。总之，再生棉可以部分替代100%原棉用于织物生产。此外，实施和扩大“收回”系统可以减少对环境的影响，并有助于环境的可持续性。

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