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

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.