Plastics are one of the fastest‐growing groups of bulk materials in the world. Yet, a third of plastic waste ends up as terrestrial or marine pollution. As a strategy to lower the carbon footprint of plastics, this study aimed to test the hypothesis that using plastics in long‐term applications would bring an environmental advantage due to the reduction of plastic pollution, the achievement of negative CO₂ emissions (NETs) by bio‐based plastics, and demand reduction for emission‐intensive construction materials, such as iron, aluminium, wood, and cement. Cradle‐to‐grave life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of high‐density polyethylene (HDPE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and expanded polystyrene (EPS) were performed for four ethylene production routes. For the final disposal, this study assessed incineration; incineration with energy recovery; recycling; and the orientation of plastics for replacing emission‐intensive material construction (long‐term applications). Findings show that using plastics as long‐lifetime materials could lead to NETs, particularly in the cases of bio‐based HDPE, bio‐based PET, and bio‐based EPS. Hence, an opportunity arises, by producing plastics for long‐term applications, to reduce both the carbon footprint and the plastic waste generation that may enter the marine environment. © 2020 Society of Industrial Chemistry and John Wiley & Sons Ltd

中文翻译：

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通过生物质原料的转化实现塑料生命周期中的负排放

塑料是世界上增长最快的散装材料之一。然而，三分之一的塑料废物最终导致了陆地或海洋污染。作为降低塑料碳足迹的一项策略，本研究旨在检验以下假设：长期使用塑料会减少塑料污染，并实现负CO ₂带来环境优势。生物基塑料的排放（NET），以及减少排放密集型建筑材料（例如铁，铝，木材和水泥）的需求。从高到低的聚乙烯（HDPE），聚氯乙烯（PVC），聚对苯二甲酸乙二酯（PET）和膨胀聚苯乙烯（EPS）的摇篮到坟墓生命周期温室气体（GHG）排放量进行了计算。对于最终处置，该研究评估了焚烧；焚化并回收能量；回收；以及用于替代排放密集型材料结构的塑料的方向（长期应用）。研究结果表明，使用塑料作为长寿命材料可能会导致NETs，特别是在生物基HDPE，生物基PET和生物基EPS的情况下。因此，通过生产长期应用的塑料，机会就出现了，以减少可能进入海洋环境的碳足迹和塑料废物的产生。©2020工业化学学会和John Wiley＆Sons Ltd