The LCA study conducted by Ramboll reveals how paper-based single-use products provide significant key environmental advantages compared to reusable tableware for in-store dining in Quick Service Restaurants (QSR)

A rigorous Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study designed and conducted by the independent Ramboll Group for the European Paper Packaging Alliance has clearly established that single-use paper (SUP) tableware systems show environmental advantages over multiple-use (MU) systems in European Quick Service Restaurants (QSR).

Compared to paper-based single-use systems, reusable systems:

• generate 2.8 times more
  CO2-equivalent emissions,

• consume 3.4 times more freshwater,

• produce 2.2 times more fine particulate matter,

• increase fossil and metal resource depletion by 3.4 times, and

• increase terrestrial acidification by 1.7 times than the paper-based single-use system.

The End-Of-Life assumption for both systems was 30% recycling and 70% inceneration with energy recovery and a 100 km average transport distance of waste from QSR to inceneration facility.

The LCA is unique in following a system-to-system approach rather than simply comparing one product to another without considering the cumulative impacts on the environment. Based on comprehensive data from QSRs, paper manufacturers, suppliers and converters and on dishwasher and dryer performance data, the LCA was conducted in compliance with ISO Standards as independently assessed by Germany’s TÜV. 

The functional unit of the study was the in-store consumption of foodstuffs and beverages over 365 days for an average QSR in Europe with respect to establishment, peak times, throughput of served dishes and hygiene standards.

A total of 24 different food and beverage containers and serving dishes was considered, including cups, wraps, clamshells, plates, trays, cutlery, salad bowls and lids. 

The realistic and symmetrical baseline scenario assumptions were that the paper products were made solely from virgin paper in an EU-average manufacturing and supply chain, and that paper waste during converting was recycled as per data obtained from converters in representative European countries. The converters also provided the data on the converting stage in general and on the types and amounts of SU packaging materials involved, excepting wooden cutlery.

It should be noted that the average EU paper recycling figures are better than this at around 86% for generic paper packaging, compared with only 41% for plastic packaging, the majority PET drink bottles (Eurostat, 2017).

The study included a sensitivity analysis, which considered different recycling rates for SUP and MU items, different MU materials – including ceramic, glass, stainless steel and polypropylene –and different End of Life allocation approaches, changing only one item or assumption per system to ensure the transparency and traceability of the results. The sensitivity analysis found that the benefits of the single-use paper system were consistent for every scenario considered.

Finally, the Ramboll study also highlighted that “In the light of a potential introduction of MU systems it needs to be borne in mind that this also constitutes a paradigm shift of the environmental monitoring and management. While the SU system is characterised by rather centralised large, industrialised operators with continuous environmental improvement systems in place, the environmental implications of a hypothetical MU system may be characterised by decentralised and less organised actors. This shift may cause a lack of both environmental management systems and data availability and reliability to steer further environmental strategies.”

• SU paper dishes and packaging have significant hygiene advantages regarding cross contamination from bacteria, fungi and viruses in particular, avoiding the resultant spread of foodborne illnesses, as identified most recently in a report by Professor McDowell, which concluded they are “the only feasible option for maintaining adequate food hygiene, public health and consumer safety”

• SU food packaging is an enabler of the entire value chain as demonstrated during the COVID pandemic

• SU paper dishes and food packaging support a circular economy with their complete and effective recyclability (including any thin plastic layer contained) and can be recycled up to 7 times

• The SUP industry is a mature industry with a proven record of investment in usability, hygiene performance and environmental sustainability, including sustainable forest management

• SU paper dishes and packing are sustainably sourced and produced in Europe whereas most plastic, ceramic and glass dishes are not

• If the scope of the study had included takeaways, there would have been additional environmental burdens with MU dishes, including additional transport for multiuse return, lower dishwasher performance in small takeaways and a higher non-return rate even with deposit schemes