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Cited by 55Environmental Impact and SustainabilitySustainable Supply Chain ManagementSustainable Design and Development

Resource efficiency of consumables – Life cycle assessment of incontinence products

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Willskytt, Siri, Tillman, Anne-Marie·2019·Resources, Conservation and Recycling
DOI 10.1016/j.resconrec.2018.12.026
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Abstract

Circular economy is presented as a sustainable alternative to the take-make-waste society. The discourse on circular economy emphasizes the role of durable products, while consumable products are less in focus, although resources efficiency is needed for all types of products. This paper aims to contribute knowledge on resource efficient measures that are possible to implement for consumables and to evaluate their resource efficiency potential by means of a case study on incontinence products using life cycle assessment. Four possible measures were identified that can be implemented at different stages of the value-chain, to increase their resource efficiency. The study was delimited to measures possible to implement using current technology. The measures were: recycling of waste generated in production, increasing the share of bio-based material in the product, shifting to a partly reusable product system and more effective use of products through customization to user’s needs. Effective use of products through customization led to at least 20% decrease in environmental impact with no trade-offs between studied impact categories. However, when looking at global warming potential only, the partly reusable product system was found to decrease environmental impact with more than 50% compared to a corresponding disposable product. Moreover, many resource efficient measures were identified as being possible to implement for consumables, and in the case of incontinence products a combination of measures was possible.

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  • Extending the lifetime of passive durable products has high potential for environmental improvement.

    “the extension of the lifetime of passive durable products, i.e., products that do not consume energy or materials during the use phase, has been found by researchers to have high potential [18][19][20].”

    From Is Prolonging the Lifetime of Passive Durable Products a Low-Hanging Fruit of a Circular Economy? A Multiple Case Study (2019) · cites this paper as [18]

    The Introduction describes longevity strategies for durable products, and the Conclusions report substantial environmental savings from reusing part of an incontinence product. The paper does not establish that extending the lifetime of passive durable products specifically has high environmental-improvement potential; its reusable product requires washing and drying between uses. No page numbers are available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.83)

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Research works printed but not linked: 21

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Willskytt, S., & Tillman, A.-M.
Affiliations
Chalmers University of Technology (SE)
Corresponding author
Willskytt, Siri
ORCID
Venue
Resources, Conservation and Recycling
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2019-05
Volume
144
Pages
13-23
ISSN
0921-3449 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.resconrec.2018.12.026
OpenAlex
W2911131887
Cited by
55
References
0
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 3
FWCI
3.07
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Resources Conservation and Recycling (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • Chalmers Research (Chalmers University of Technology) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Stiftelsen för Miljöstrategisk Forskning
  • Chalmers Tekniska Högskola
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Engineering › Environmental Impact and Sustainability
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Strategy and Management › Sustainable Supply Chain Management
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Building and Construction › Sustainable Design and Development
Keywords
resource efficiency, consumables, incontinence products, circular economy, bio-based materials, customization, environmental impact, global warming potential, value chain

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