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2014 ASHS Annual Conference

19084:
Biocontainer Use in Petunia xhybrida Greenhouse Production – A Cradle-to-Gate Carbon Footprint Assessment of Secondary Impacts

Tuesday, July 29, 2014: 5:00 PM
Salon 7 (Rosen Plaza Hotel)
Andrew Koeser, Crop Sciences, University of Florida, GREC, Wimauma, FL
Sarah T. Lovell, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL
Aaron C. Petri, University of Illinois, Champaign, IL
Robin G. Brumfield, Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ
J. Ryan Stewart, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT
While biocontainers (i.e., biodegradable, plant-based containers) are marketed as being more sustainable than conventional plastic pots, little scientific literature exists to substantiate these claims. Life cycle assessment (LCA) serves as a holistic accounting of all the material/energy inputs and waste/pollution outflows associated with a given product. This presentation draws on LCA methods to assess how secondary production impacts (e.g., irrigation demand) differ as container type changes for the production of a common annual ornamental plant (e.g., Petunia xhybrida). Results show that the container itself accounts for approximately 17% of overall CO2e (i.e.,carbon dioxide equivalent) emissions during petunia production using a conventional plastic pot. Though container was a significant contributor to GWP, electrical consumption for supplemental lighting during plug production and irrigation throughout the production process proved to be the leading sources of CO2e emissions (over 44%). Differences in GWP were only minor in comparing the use of various biocontainers with standard plastic containers for secondary production impacts. Results demonstrate that biocontainers compete with plastic pots for secondary impacts, suggesting they could potentially be more sustainable than plastic pots once pot manufacturing data are considered. Use of more efficient supplemental lighting sources, however, may ultimately have the greatest impact on overall GWP.