Unable to define product system because of avoided product

Question

Hi,

I am modelling EOL of a product and defined a process in which the recycled product ends up as an avoided product by the virgin product. This means in the input of the process, I have the recycled product and in the output, I have the virgin product and the avoided box is checked. This is how I learned to model the open-loop recycling process in your advanced course. However, now I cannot define any product system on this process, because the output process has no real output anymore, it is avoided. I am wondering, now how I can calculate the environmental impact of the whole process (from the production of the process to the recycling process). Does this mean that when I assign an avoided product to the system, no environmental impacts will be considered for the whole process?

Thank you in advance for your help,

Mahsa

Answer 1

Always, the product system needs to deliver a benefit. If you model the EOL only, then you cannot only have consumption of recyclable and avoiding primary product, but you need some benefit. It could be waste treatment (you will not only have pure recyclate but also other inputs that cannot be recycled, thus will be waste treatment probably - but this depends on your case). Good luck!

Andreas

- afterthought: can also be that you do not apply system expansation (avoided products) to calculate the generated product "away", but simply calculate the impacts of producing a product from recyclate

Comments

Thank you for your helpful answer. leaving aside the product system definition, I want to know whether this form of EOL modeling is correct. I mean if I define a recycled product as an avoided product (without considering any other outputs), does this mean that the environmental impacts of the recycled product are compensated by avoiding virgin product production? or is it wrong and I cannot model a system expansion like this without considering any other outputs except the avoided produc?

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to your new question in the last comment: yes, and that is a correct way of modeling. Only point is that then you "calculate away" the benefits of having the recyclate, so the process where you apply this needs to provide another benefit (produce another product, or take waste as input).