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Life Cycle Analysis of Bags for Food Scraps Collection

University of British Columbia. Campus and Community Planning

This report analyzes three alternative composting systems to improve sustainability for the UBC composting system: switching to an off-site composting facility, replacing plastic bag liners with paper bags and switching to a bagless system. The evaluation was done by performing a triple bottom line analysis on each of the options based on the information acquired from the client Bud Fraser as well as information from online resources such as the SEEDS library. Upon examination, the results indicate that the bagless system is the most viable out of the three options. The bagless system can be integrated into the current composting system with very little effort, which saves a large amount of integration time to fully implement the system. It will allow for zero bag waste and, in comparison, a minimal amount of further waste in the form of fuel and water. It may be the most cost effective and the least disruptive solution to the current system, however the downsides to this solution are specifically social, such as custodian staff lifting heavier loads and trucks transporting bins more frequently. In the future, the findings of this report could be further used to develop an even more sustainable system of composting. Disclaimer: “UBC SEEDS provides students with the opportunity to share the findings of their studies, as well as their opinions, conclusions and recommendations with the UBC community. The reader should bear in mind that this is a student project/report and is not an official document of UBC. Furthermore readers should bear in mind that these reports may not reflect the current status of activities at UBC. We urge you to contact the research persons mentioned in a report or the SEEDS Coordinator about the current status of the subject matter of a project/report.”

Text

UBC Social Ecological Economic Development Studies (SEEDS) Student Report; University of British Columbia. APSC 262

Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library

10.14288/1.0343175

Applied Science, Faculty of

Unreviewed

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/