Life cycle and supply chain management for sustainable bins

Packaging is essential in logistics processes. All products consumed in a supply chain from fresh berries to large containershipparts are packed during their transportation and storing processes. Often plastics are used as a basic component for the bins. These synthetic materials are produced from crude oil. After their use plastic packaging is often burned to receive thermal energy. To measure and analyse the environmental impact a life cycle assessment can be carried out. In this paper the assessment is done for a Kanban bin made out of sunflower granulate. A typical supply chain situation is simulation. Different system boundaries are used. The production and the use/maintenance phase are analysed with the help of a framework. The highest impact on the environment is during the use phase. The transportation and the recycling phase can be neglected in terms of the environmental impact. Using a sunflower-granulate the emissions during the production phase can be reduced. The impact is less strong considering a life cycle process. (C) 2017 Published by Elsevier Ltd.