Carbon footprint of glass and PET containers in South Africa
Researchers at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa analysed the product carbon footprint of the packaging process for 300 ml glass and 500 ml PET containers for a South African soft drink manufacturer.
They found that the PET packaging process draws 100% of its cumulative energy demand from purchased electricity (generated by burning coal); therefore, the PET containers have 4.5 times less global warming potential per hectolitre than the glass containers, which have 71% of their emissions resulting directly from coal-fired boilers on site. An article about the research was presented at the 27th annual conference of the Southern African Institute for Industrial Engineering.
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