Absorbent Hygiene Products

Comparative Life Cycle Assessment

Knowaste Ltd

Summary of Findings

Prepared for Knowaste Ltd

April 2011
Contents

One Page Summary 3

Background 4

Project Introduction 5

Aim 5

Scope of the Study 6

Environmental Impacts Covered 8

Results 9

Translations & Insights 10

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One Page Summary
The Project

This study assessed the environmental performance of Knowaste’s Absorbent Hygiene Products (AHP)
recycling process compared to standard UK disposal practice, namely landfill and incineration. Findings
were based on a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) consistent with the ISO 14040 (LCA) international
standard, including a third party review by a panel of experts.

The Findings

Compared to standard UK waste practices, the Knowaste process (a) diverts AHP waste from standard
waste disposal avenues (i.e. landfill and incineration) and (b) produces useful recyclates that can be
reused for manufacturing other products. More specifically, the following insights are relevant:

• Compared to landfill and incineration, the Knowaste recycling process emits up to 71% less
carbon emissions

• Based on an annual capacity of 36,000 metric tonnes of AHP waste, a UK Knowaste plant
could save 22,536 metric tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year. Annually, this would
be equivalent to:
o 7,487 cars removed from UK roads 1
o The annual carbon emissions of 2,064 UK citizens 2
o 102,436 LCD televisions switched off 3
o £270,432 - cost of carbon (CO2e) emissions under the UK Carbon Reduction
Commitment (CRC) scheme 4

• Knowaste has reduced impacts for all other environmental impacts assessed in this study,
namely: toxicity impacts to humans reduced by up to 97%, toxicity impacts to animals and
plants reduced by up to 99%, acid rain impacts reduced by up to 48%, resource depletion
reduced by up to 54%, eutrophication reduced by up to 93%.

• Based on a number of alternative scenarios created to test the sensitivity of results, the
Knowaste process was still found to provide reduced impacts for all the environmental issues
reviewed.

1
Based on UK average petrol car (DEFRA, 2010), average annual mileage of 9,000 miles
2
Based on average Briton’s annual carbon footprint of 10.92 tCO2e (Carbon Trust, 2006)
3
Based on annual emissions of 220 kgCO2e (www.carbonfootprint.com)
4
Based on carbon price of £12 per tonne (DECC, 2011)

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Background
The 21st century has witnessed unprecedented global growth, which in turn has led to environmental
and social pressures requiring international policy responses. Frameworks for carbon mitigation, waste
management, the protection of biodiversity and sustainable food and water are in constant formation. In
the European Union, waste is managed in line with the waste hierarchy which positions waste as a
valuable resource and promotes waste prevention, re-use and recycling.

About Knowaste Ltd

Knowaste Ltd is the UK subsidiary of a private North American organisation founded in 1989,
specialising in recycling Absorbent Hygiene Product (AHP) waste. Absorbent Hygiene Products consist
of disposable child nappies, adult incontinence products, feminine hygiene and similar products.
Knowaste’s first UK recycling plant in West Bromwich, West Midlands, is designed to process 36,000
tonnes of AHP waste annually. Knowaste’s recycling process sterilises the materials using autoclave
technology and creates two product outputs – plastics and fibres – for re-use in products or green
energy generation. Knowaste works with the commercial care and hygiene sectors and the public care
and domestic sectors to provide recycling for AHP waste.

About Deloitte LLP

Deloitte UK is a member firm of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, a UK private company. Deloitte is
the largest professional services firm worldwide, with a presence in over 140 countries, and more than
160,000 people. The UK firm has over 12,000 partners and employees, with offices in 23 cities and
towns across the UK and Channel Islands.

Deloitte’s UK Sustainability and Climate Change team provides services covering Responsible
Business, Climate Change & Carbon Management, and Sustainable Property & Real Estate. This
includes services in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), used to conduct the study on behalf of Knowaste
Ltd.

About Data & Reviews

Data was based on a variety of sources, including the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs (Defra), the Environment Agency and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). In
accordance with the requirements of ISO 14040 for comparative LCAs, the project LCA was reviewed
by a panel of experts. The Chair was Dr. Richard Murphy (specialist in Life Cycle Assessment of
Imperial College London), Dr. Nick Voulvoulis (specialist in waste and water management, and Director
of the Environmental Technology Masters course, Imperial College London), and Christopher Foster
(specialist in LCA at EuGeos Ltd).

4
Project Introduction
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) provides a unique approach to managing and relating the environmental
impacts of a product to its supply chain and life cycle from cradle to grave. An LCA is also required for a
business to understand, and should it wish, to communicate the environmental benefits and impacts of
its product or process.

Conducting an LCA requires a thorough investigation of the supply chain and processes across a
product’s Life Cycle, as shown below:

Figure 1: Life Cycle Assessment and the potential environmental improvements at each stage.

Aim
In order to investigate and improve its environmental performance, Knowaste commissioned Deloitte to
conduct a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study. By investigating the environmental impacts at each
stage of this process, Knowaste wished to benchmark itself against typical UK waste disposal, and
identify how to improve its own processes.

Therefore, the aim of this LCA study was to measure and determine the environmental impacts
potentially caused by the Knowaste recycling process. These results were then compared to the
environmental impacts of disposing the same amount of AHP waste in a typical UK disposal scenario,
namely a combination of landfill and incineration (referred to henceforth as ’Business As Usual’ / BAU).

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Scope of the Study
The LCA compared the environmental impacts of disposing one metric tonne of AHP waste according
to a ‘Business As Usual’ (BAU), and Knowaste scenario. Three stages were considered in each case,
namely the inputs/collection, processing, and outputs from AHP waste. The two scenarios were
compared on a like-for-like basis, as outlined below:

• BAU consists of a standard UK waste scenario consisting of waste collection, landfill (81%) and
incineration (19%), including useful energy recovery from landfill (as a result of methane
capture) and incineration processes. Finally, since no recyclate materials (such as plastic) are
recovered from this process, the extraction and manufacture of additional virgin materials are
included.

• Knowaste covers the collection and processing of AHP waste. The breakdown of materials in
this waste is shown in Figure 2. Using a ‘two-stream’ process, this scenario (1) generates its
own energy from the gasification of organic fibres produced by the process and (2) produces
useful recyclates for the UK market (mainly as plastics, but also some metals and other process
rejects). Since the AHP waste is not landfilled or incinerated, this scenario includes the
extraction and combustion of additional fuels for energy that would have been produced in a
BAU situation.

Rejects
Solid 4%
Waste
Super 6%
Absorbent
Polymer (SAP)
7%

Plastic
Water
12%
47%

Cellulose fibre
24%

Figure 2: A diagram showing the breakdown of waste materials AHP

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Figure 3 shows the boundary of the system described above:

BUSINESS-AS-USUAL KNOWASTE PROCESS

PROCESS
INPUTS
TRANSPORT TRANSPORT
COLLECTION COLLECTION
OF AHP OF AHP
OF WASTE OF WASTE
WASTE WASTE

PROCESS MATERIAL
PROCESS MATERIALS SUPPLY CHAIN

INCINERATION LANDFILL
(inc energy recovery) (inc energy recovery)
ELECTRICITY
KNOWASTE
FROM
PROCESS GASIFICATION

RAW MATS /
VIRGIN
PROCESS METAL AND
ENERGY VIRGIN OUTPUTS PLASTIC ORGANIC
METALS AND GLASS
INPUTS PLASTIC PELLETS RESIDUE
GLASS REJECTS

ADDITIONAL
DELIVERY TO DELIVERY TO DELIVERY TO DELIVERY TO
GRID
SITE OF USE SITE OF USE SITE OF USE SITE OF USE
ELECTRICITY

Figure 3: A diagram showing the boundary and processes assessed under this LCA project

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Environmental Impacts Covered
The results of this study looked at how the BAU and Knowaste processes could contribute to six
important environmental impacts, briefly described below:

Global warming impact or ‘carbon’ emissions

This looks at the potential impacts of Greenhouse Gases (for example, carbon dioxide and methane) in
the atmosphere. Created by processes such as the burning of fossil fuels, agriculture and deforestation,
when these gases are produced at a rate higher than nature’s ability to absorb them, the Earth’s natural
climate systems are disturbed. The serious consequences of these changes to climate are expected to
impact global food supply, water availability and biodiversity, requiring significant mitigation and
adaptation measures across public and private sectors.

Toxicity to humans and ecosystems

This refers to the impacts of excess chemicals – natural or man-made – to human health, and animals,
plants and bacteria. Toxins can be poisonous substances like dioxins from uncontrolled industrial
atmospheric emissions. Metals such as mercury and cadmium, present in excess, can cause harm to
the nervous system, or cause cancer. Past cases of human and ecological toxicity have resulted from
inappropriate chemical effluent discharge, chemical spills, and leaks.

Acid rain impact (Acidification)

This considers the effects of acidic substances created by pollution such as sulphur from the burning of
coal. Since these pollutants can travel for long distances depending on wind and climatic conditions,
acid rain can be deposited in natural environments such as lakes and forests. It can impact plant life,
aquatic life, birds and other animals, and limestone buildings.

Resource depletion
This impact occurs when raw materials and fossil fuels are extracted quicker than the nature’s ability to
replenish them. Resource depletion covers the reduction of non-renewable sources, such as coal, oil
and minerals. It is typically caused as a result of processes such as industrial development, mining and
deforestation.

Eutrophication impact
‘Eutrophication’ is the accumulation of nutrients such as fertilisers (made from nitrates and phosphates)
in water sources. For example, fertilizer run-off from farms has led to algal blooms wherein the algae, in
the presence of nutrients, absorb all the oxygen dissolved in water leading to death of aquatic life.

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Results
Based on Figure 4 below, it was found that the one tonne of AHP waste processed by Knowaste, rather
than through landfill and incineration, gives rise to the following: carbon emissions reduced by up to
71%, toxicity impacts to humans reduced by up to 97%, toxicity impacts to animals and plants reduced
by up to 99%, acidification impacts reduced by up to 48%, resource depletion reduced by up to 54%,
eutrophication reduced by up to 93%.

100%

90%

80% ‐71% ‐97% ‐99% ‐48% ‐54% ‐93%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
Business As Usual Knowaste ‐ Knowaste ‐ Knowaste ‐ Knowaste ‐ Knowaste -‐
Knowaste Knowaste ‐
‐ All Impacts Carbon Emissions Human toxicity Ecotoxicity Acidification Resource depletion Eutrophication
Abiotic depletion

Figure 4: Results of the impact assessment

Translations & Insights
Since the annual AHP waste capacity of a UK Knowaste plant is based on 36,000 metric tonnes, the
results discussed previously can be translated into the following metrics:

• A UK Knowaste plant as designed could save 22,536 metric tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions
per year. Annually, this is equivalent to:
o 7,487 cars removed from UK roads 5
o The annual carbon emissions of 2,064 UK citizens 6
o 102,436 LCD televisions switched off 7
o £270,432 - cost of carbon (CO2e) emissions under the UK Carbon Reduction Commitment
(CRC) scheme 8

• This mass of AHP waste is equivalent to the volume of:

o 32 Olympic swimming pools 9
o 6.5% of the remaining capacity of an average UK landfill site 10

5
Based on UK average petrol car (DEFRA, 2010), average annual mileage of 9,000 miles
6
Based on average Briton’s annual carbon footprint of 10.92 tCO2e (Carbon Trust, 2006)
7
Based on annual emissions of 220 kgCO2e (www.carbonfootprint.com)
8
Based on carbon price of £12 per tonne (DECC, 2011)
9
Based on 50m x 25m x 2m pool; assuming AHP waste density of 450kg/m3 (BS 5906:1980)
10
Based on 614 million m3 remaining capacity at 497 UK sites (Environment Agency, 2009); assuming AHP waste density of 450kg/m3
 1000 Figure 5: Results per tonne AHP
900 (Global Warming)

800
700
Emissions /kgCO2e

600
500
400
300
200
100
0
Business As Knowaste
Usual
Process Inputs ‐ BAU Process Inputs ‐ KW
Process ‐ BAU Process ‐ KW
Process Outputs ‐ BAU Process Outputs ‐ KW

Following the breakdown for each lifecycle stage (shown for carbon in Figure 5), the following insights
emerged from this study regarding the most impactful processes:

• The largest carbon impact for BAU and Knowaste is from the ‘outputs’ stage. For BAU, the ‘outputs
stage’ refers mainly to carbon emissions from the manufacture of virgin plastics, as all material that
could potentially be reclaimed or recycled via Knowaste processing is effectively ‘lost’ under BAU.
For Knowaste, the outputs stage refers to the generation of grid electricity from Landfill gas and
Energy from Waste incineration which is effectively ‘lost’ under Knowaste.

• Toxicity impacts are lower for Knowaste compared to BAU since potential emissions from landfill,
incineration and the manufacture of plastics (which can give rise to toxic effluents to the
environment) are avoided.

• Similarly, the manufacture of plastics in the BAU stage, requiring non renewable fossil fuels and
associated sulphur emissions, means resource depletion and acidification impacts are
proportionally larger than Knowaste.

• The disposal processes of BAU give rise to potentially higher eutrophication impacts due to landfill
activities and associated effluents.

• A number of alternative scenarios were created to analyse the sensitivity of the results: (1) BAU
assuming only landfill, (2) BAU assuming only incineration, (3) BAU assuming a higher recycled
content for plastics entering the UK market, (4) the Knowaste process using grid electricity rather
than generating its own electricity from gasification. Based on all these variations, Knowaste was
still found to provide reduced impacts for all the environmental issues reviewed.

• In the case of Knowaste using grid electricity instead of drawing energy from gasification of the
fibres, the carbon emissions are reduced by 50%, toxicity to humans by 96%, toxicity to ecosystems
by 81%, acid rain by 18%, resource depletion by 27% and eutrophication by 88%.

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IMPORTANT NOTICE

Disclaimer

This report (the “Report”) has been prepared by Deloitte LLP (“Deloitte”) for Knowaste Ltd in accordance with the contract with
th
them dated 15 March 2011 (“the Contract”) and on the basis of the scope and limitations set out below.

The Report has been prepared solely for the purposes of creating a summary LCA report, as set out in the Contract. It should not
be used for any other purpose or in any other context, and Deloitte accepts no responsibility for its use in either regard including
their use by Knowaste Ltd for decision making or reporting to third parties.

The Report is provided exclusively for Knowaste’s use under the terms of the Contract. No party other than Knowaste is entitled
to rely on the Report for any purpose whatsoever and Deloitte accepts no responsibility or liability or duty of care to any party
other than Knowaste Ltd in respect of the Report and/or any of its contents. If a third party chooses to rely on the Report, it does
so at its own risk and without recourse to Deloitte.

The information contained in the Report has been obtained from Knowaste Ltd and third party sources that are clearly referenced
in the appropriate sections of the Report. Deloitte has neither sought to corroborate this information nor to review its overall
reasonableness. Further, any results from the analysis contained in the Report are reliant on the information available at the time
of writing the Report and should not be relied upon in subsequent periods.

Accordingly, no representation or warranty, express or implied, is given and no responsibility or liability is or will be accepted by or
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This Report and its contents are confidential and may not be modified, reproduced, distributed or otherwise disclosed directly or
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Upon Publishing

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This Report and its contents do not constitute financial or other professional advice, and specific advice should be sought about
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Deloitte and Knowaste Ltd disclaim any liability arising out of the use (or non-use) of the Report and its contents, including any
action or decision taken as a result of such use (or non-use).

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