Life Cycle Assessment Flashcards
All 5 cards in this deck
What is a life cycle assessment (LCA)?
An assessment of the effect on the environment of a product over its whole life, from raw materials to disposal.
What are the four stages considered in a life cycle assessment?
- Obtaining the raw materials
- Manufacturing the product
- Using the product
- Disposing of the product.
True or false? A life cycle assessment only considers the pollution made while the product is being manufactured.
False. It also considers obtaining the raw materials, using the product and disposing of it.
Why can a life cycle assessment be difficult to make objective?
Some impacts (e.g. pollution effects) must be estimated or given a value judgement rather than measured.
In an LCA, which disposal route reduces environmental impact most for a metal product?
Recycling the metal, as it avoids landfill and saves the energy of extracting new metal.