Original Articles
Early Access
https://doi.org/10.4081/jae.2026.2148

Responding to the European SUP directive: a case study of Life Cycle-Based environmental performance analysis of ice cream cups in PS, PLA, and paper

Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
Published: 20 July 2026
18
Views
7
Downloads
LCA, PS, PLA, paperboard, carbon footprint, impact assessment, SUP Directive

Authors

Piernicola Masella
Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry (DAGRI), University of Florence, Italy.
Agnese Spadi
Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry (DAGRI), University of Florence, Italy.
Niccolò Gracci
Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry (DAGRI), University of Florence, Italy.
Cristiano Vizzo
cristiano.vizzo@unifi.it
https://orcid.org/0009-0004-7607-5217
Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry (DAGRI), University of Florence, Italy.
Alessio Cappelli
Department of Human Science and Quality of Life Promotion, San Raffaele University of Rome, Italy.
Alessandro Parenti
Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry (DAGRI), University of Florence, Italy.
Ferdinando Corti
Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry (DAGRI), University of Florence, Italy.
Lorenzo Bruchi
Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry (DAGRI), University of Florence, Italy.
Giulia Angeloni
Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry (DAGRI), University of Florence, Italy.

This study presents a comparative Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of ice cream cups made from polystyrene (PS), polylactic acid (PLA), and paperboard (PAP), based on primary industrial data and a cradle-to-gate approach. The analysis was performed using the CML v4.8 (2016) method and complemented by the Environmental Footprint (EF 3.1) methodology to assess the robustness of the results. The results show that PLA exhibits the highest environmental impacts across most categories, mainly due to upstream processes associated with agricultural production and polymer synthesis. In contrast, PS is characterized by the highest fossil resource depletion and non-renewable energy demand, while PAP shows lower impacts in climate change but significantly higher land use. The comparison highlights the presence of trade-offs among materials, indicating that no single option is environmentally preferable across all impact categories. The consistency between the CML and EF 3.1 results confirms the robustness of the comparative assessment. These findings emphasize the importance of adopting a full life cycle perspective when evaluating alternative materials, particularly for bio-based products. The study provides a methodological basis for Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) and supports informed decision-making in the food packaging sector.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Citations

de Bruijn H, Van Duin R, Huijbregts MAJ, Guinee JB, Gorree M, Heijungs R, et al., 2002. Handbook on life cycle assessment: operational guide to the ISO Standards. Dordrecht, Springer. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/0-306-48055-7
Deshwal GK, Panjagari NR, Alam T, 2019. An overview of paper and paper based food packaging materials: health safety and environmental concerns. J Food Sci Technol 56:4391-4403. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13197-019-03950-z
European Bioplastics, 2023. Bioplastics market development update 2023: global production capacities 2023-2028. Berlin, Germany. Accessed on April 10, 2026. Available from: https://docs.european-bioplastics.org/publications/market_data/2023/EUBP_Market_Data_Report_2023.pdf
European Union, 2019. Directive (EU) 2019/904 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 2019 on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment. In: Official Journal, L 155/1, 12.6.2019, pp. 1-19. Available from: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32019L0904
European Union, 2023. Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on substantiation and communication of explicit environmental claims (Green Claims Directive). COM/2023/166 final. Available from: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52023PC0166
Eurostat, 2022. Municipal waste by waste management operations. Available from: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/product/page/ENV_WASMUN
Fonseca A, Ramalho E, Gouveia A, Figueiredo F, Nunes J. 2023. Life cycle assessment of PLA products: a systematic literature review. Sustainability 15:12470. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su151612470
Guinée JB, Heijungs R, Huppes G, Zamagni A, Masoni P, Buonamici R, et al., 2011. Life cycle assessment: past, present, and future. Environ Sci Technol 45:90-96. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/es101316v
International standards: ISO, 2006a. Environmental Management – Life Cycle Assessment – Principles and Framework. Norm ISO 14040:2006. International Organization for Standardization Publ., Geneva.
International standards: ISO, 2006b. Environmental Management – Life Cycle Assessment – Requirements and Guidelines. Norm ISO 14044:2006. International Organization for Standardization Publ., Geneva.
International standards: ISO, 2006c. Environmental Labels and Declarations – Type III Environmental Declarations – Principles and Procedures. Norm ISO 14025:2006. International Organization for Standardization Publ., Geneva.
Islam Md.M, Haque N, Lau D, Bhuiyan M, Pramanik BK, 2026. Environmental footprints of biological end-of-life strategies for residual post-consumer polylactic acid: A comparative life cycle assessment. Resour Conserv Recycl 231:108921. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2026.108921
Landis AE, Hobbs SR, Newby D, Wilson J, Pincus T, 2022. Environmental footprint and life cycle assessment of poly (lactic acid). In: RA Auras, L Lim, SEM Selke, H Tsuji (Eds.), Poly(Lactic Acid). Chichester, J Wiley & Son, pp. 541-558. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119767480.ch23
Moretti C, Hamelin L, Jakobsen LG, Junginger MH, Steingrimsdottir MM, Høibye L, Shen L, 2021. Cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment of single-use cups made from PLA, PP and PET. Resour Conserv Recycl 169;105508. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2021.105508
Plastics Europe, 2023. Plastics – the fast facts 2023: Enabling a sustainable future. Brussels. Accessed on: April 10, 2026. Available from: https://plasticseurope.org/knowledge-hub/plastics-the-fast-facts-2023/
Sun M, Wang Y, Shi L, Klemeš JJ, 2018. Uncovering energy use, carbon emissions and environmental burdens of pulp and paper industry: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 92:823-833. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2018.04.036
United Nations, 1987. Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development : "Our common future" [Brundtland report]. Report No. A/42/427. New York, United Nations. Accessed on: April 10, 2026. Available from: https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/139811?v=pdf
United Nations, 2024. Highlights 2023-2024: towards sustainable development for all. New York, United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Accessed on: April 10, 2026. Available from: https://www.un.org/sites/un2.un.org/files/desa-highlights-report-2023-2024.pdf
Villanueva A, Wenzel H, 2007. Paper waste – Recycling, incineration or landfilling? A review of existing life cycle assessments. Waste Manag 27:S29-S46. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2007.02.019
Vink ETH, Rábago KR, Glassner DA, Gruber PR, 2003. Applications of life cycle assessment to NatureWorks™ polylactide (PLA) production. Polym Degrad Stab 80:403-419. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0141-3910(02)00372-5
Walker S, Rothman R, 2020. Life cycle assessment of bio-based and fossil-based plastic: A review. J Clean Prod 261:121158. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.121158

CRediT authorship contribution

Piernicola Masella, conceptualization, methodology, project administration, software, supervision, writing - original draft. Agnese Spadi, conceptualization, investigation, methodology, validation, visualization. Niccolò Gracci, data curation, formal analysis, investigation, software. Cristiano Vizzo, investigation, writing: review and editing, validation, visualization; Alessio Cappelli, validation, visualization. Alessandro Parenti, validation, visualization. Ferdinando Corti, methodology, validation. Lorenzo Bruchi, validation, visualization. Giulia Angeloni, conceptualization, investigation, supervision, validation.

Data Availability Statement

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available upon reasonable request from the corresponding author.

How to Cite



“Responding to the European SUP directive: a case study of Life Cycle-Based environmental performance analysis of ice cream cups in PS, PLA, and paper” (2026) Journal of Agricultural Engineering [Preprint]. doi:10.4081/jae.2026.2148.
Copyright (c) 2026 the Author(s) Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.