Lifecycle Balance Of Costs And Benefits

For Managing Leftover Paint

Scope of Work for the Life Cycle Assessment

Prepared for:

The Paint Product Stewardship Initiative

Acknowledgement:

This work was funded by

The National Paint and Coatings Association

Prepared and Submitted Jointly By:

Team F2

Franklin Associates,
A Division of ERG
Prairie Village, KS / First Environment, Inc.
Washington, DC and Portland, OR

November 1, 2005

1Introduction

A large quantity[1] of leftover consumer paint is generated annually in the United States, with municipalities spending an average of $8 per gallon to manage the resulting leftover paint.[2] Thus, leftover paint and associated packaging has become a top priority for the Product Stewardship Institute (PSI), a national non-profit membership-based organization that works with state and local government agencies to partner with key stakeholders, such as manufacturers, retailers, environmental groups, and federal agencies, to reduce the health and environmental impacts of consumer products.

PSI launched the Paint Product Stewardship Initiative (PPSI) and, since December 2003, has facilitated a national dialogue to reduce the generation of leftover paint, identify cost-effective and environmentally sound methods for managing leftover paint, and establish markets for reusing and recycling leftover paint. PPSI participants, including PSI and a multi-stakeholder steering committee, developed a portfolio of 11 projects that collectively aim to help the development of a nationally coordinated leftover paint management system.

The “Lifecycle Balance of Costs and Benefits” project (Lifecycle project) will use two complementary tools, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA), to evaluate different methods for managing leftover paint in terms of the environmental and economic costs and benefits. These studies have been initiated to answer the questions:

  1. What are the costs and benefits of the various methods for managing leftover paint?
  2. What are the environmental impacts associated with employing each method for managing leftover paint?

Team F2 (a collaborative effort between Franklin Associates and First Environment, Inc.) has worked with the PSI and the PPSI LCA Workgroup to understand the goals of the PPSI, understand current methods for managing leftover paint, and define the goals and scope of an LCA that will help PPSI evaluate the environmental impacts of the different methods for managing leftover paint. The recommended Scope Of Work for a forthcoming LCA is detailed in this report.

2ISO Guidelines for LCA

LCA is a tool for the systematic evaluation of the environmental impacts of a product through all stages of its life cycle, which include extraction of raw materials, manufacturing, transport and use of products, and end-of-life management (e.g., reuse, recycling and/or disposal). The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) developed a set of guidelines for conducting LCA.[3] The four main parts of an LCA according to the ISO 14040 series of guidelines include:

  1. Goal and Scope definition: specifying the reason for conducting the study, intended use of study results, intended audience, system boundaries, data requirements, and study limitations
  2. Life Cycle Inventory (LCI): collecting, validating and aggregating input and output data to quantify material use, energy use, environmental discharges, and waste associated with each life cycle stage.
  3. Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA): using impact categories, category indicators, characterization models, equivalency factors, and weighting values to translate an inventory into potential impact on human health and the environment.
  4. Interpretation: assessing whether results are inline with project goals, providing an unbiased summary of results, defining significant impacts, and recommending methods for reducing material use and environmental burdens.

To ensure technical credibility and acceptance of the LCA results and interpretations, the leftover paint management LCA will adhere to ISO 14040 guidelines. When multiple approaches satisfy ISO provisions, an approach that is accurate, practical, provides consistency between LCAs of leftover paint management methods, and helps decision makers identify which choices are better for the environment will be selected. In addition, the final report will clearly summarize the approaches implemented so that the study, results, and interpretations are transparent to the PPSI.

3Goal of The LCA Study

Reasons for Carrying Out the Study

The primary objective of the LCA study is to perform an environmental life cycle assessment of six different methods for managing leftover latex paint. The PPSI will use the results of this LCA study and the complementary CBA study to weigh the environmental and economic benefits and impacts of alternate methods for managing leftover latex paint. Ten other PPSI projects complement the Lifecycle Balance of Costs and Benefits project. The other projects focus on educating consumers and the public, developing markets for reused and recycled paint, developing an efficient and effective national infrastructure for managing leftover paint, and identifying the financial requirements for creating such an infrastructure. The combined results of these projects will help the PPSI develop a nationally coordinated paint management system that is cost-effective and environmentally sound, technically and economically feasible, and successful. The LCA study will aid in selecting specific leftover paint management methods that minimize overall environmental impact.

Intended Applications

The PPSI is concerned with the management of both oil-based and latex paints. While there are significant concerns about the hazardous nature of oil-based paints, there was agreement early in the dialogue that oil-based paints should be specially collected and managed as hazardous waste. In addition, sales of oil-based paints are decreasing. Furthermore, uses for leftover oil-based paint are limited to fuel blending and possibly recycling and/or reuse via paint exchanges. As a result, there are a limited number of methods for managing leftover oil-based paint. There are important environmental impacts associated with improperly disposing of oil-based paints – making proper disposal an important issue for the PPSI. Since oil-based paint must already be managed due to its hazardous nature, and there are a limited number of methods for managing leftover oil-based paint, an LCA will provide little help in developing a nationally coordinated paint management system for oil-based paint. Therefore, this LCA will not focus on oil-based paint.

In contrast, sales of latex paint are increasing, and several methods are currently employed to reuse and recycle leftover latex paint. Further, an increasing number of government agencies are recommending that citizens dry and dispose of latex paint owing to a lack of funds to manage all environmental priorities. This LCA study will evaluate the relative merits of different methods for managing unwanted leftover latex paint.

Paint management methods can be grouped under two general scenarios: consumer-based and collection-based.

  1. Consumer-based scenario: requires consumers to manage leftover latex paint
  2. Collection-based scenario: provides an infrastructure for collecting and managing leftover latex paint.

Under the two management scenarios, there are six management methods that may be employed in combination to manage leftover paint, as follows:

  1. Consumer-based Scenario (at an individual dwelling unit)
  2. Dry /stabilize and dispose method
  3. User-to-user reuse method
  4. Collection-based Scenario (at a central collection facility)
  5. Dry/stabilize and dispose method
  6. Reuse method
  7. Recycle via consolidation method
  8. Recycle via reprocessing method

Individual methods are the building blocks under the two management scenarios. The LCA will evaluate individual methods but not scenarios consisting of combinations of methods. In particular, the following management methods will be evaluated using environmental life cycle assessment:

1 and 2. Dry/Stabilize and dispose method (Consumer and Collection Scenarios): drying or stabilizing leftover latex paint and disposing of it as solid waste. This method is different for the consumer-based and collection-based scenarios. In the consumer-based scenario, consumers generally would dry/stabilize the paint prior to disposal. As a result, containers are generally disposed with the dried paint inside. Consumer-based drying/stabilization may or may not use a solidification agent (e.g., cat litter).

The collection-based scenario has a collection and consolidation element, typically with bulk containers being disposed along with the paint, but with the individual containers being recycled (if steel). However, if the collection facility knows that the paint will be incinerated, paint may not be dried/stabilized or consolidated into bulk containers. In this case, the individual container would be incinerated along with the paint and the container (if steel) often recycled prior to, or after, the incineration process. Consolidated bulk drying probably will use an agent (e.g., Portland cement).

3. and 4. Reuse method (Consumer and Collection Scenarios): storing leftover latex paint properly and distributing it to other parties who use the leftover paint. Under the consumer scenario, the consumer might drive to a location (e.g., local school) to reuse the paint or donate to a friend. Under the collection scenario, a central facility (e.g., Habitat for Humanity, municipality) would have a system for consumer reuse.

5. Recycling via consolidation method (Collection Scenario): storing leftover latex paint properly, transporting it to recyclers who sort, possibly filter, consolidate, and repackage it for use. This is also called batch and blend or low-tech recycling. Leftover steel containers are generally recycled.

6. Recycling via reprocessing method (Collection Scenario) storing leftover latex paint properly, transporting it to recyclers who sort, filter, consolidate, reprocess, and test it. This requires the addition of virgin material components and is also called high-tech recycling. Leftover steel containers are generally recycled.

Several different approaches can be employed within each of the methods defined above. For example, paint can be air dried or stabilized with a drying agent. In addition, the method that a consumer intends to employ may be different than the actual method that is used. For example, a consumer may intend to recycle paint. However, upon inspection, the recycler may deem the paint unsuitable for recycling due to contamination or another problem and, instead, dry/stabilize the paint and dispose of it. To capture the variation in each method and the potential disparity between the intended and actual method employed, several leftover paint management pathways have been defined. These are illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. Dashed lines in the figures indicate a path from the intended management method to a management method that is different from intended. A description of each pathway illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 is provided in Appendix One.

While both figures include storage of leftover paint by consumers, storage is a temporary postponement of leftover paint management, not a management method. As such, storage at home will not be evaluated in the LCA study. However, since storage may impact the costs and benefits of a nationally coordinated leftover paint management system, it will be included in an interactive model for evaluating various combinations of the six methods listed above. In addition, Figure 2 illustrates crossover between methods that may occur if paint is unsuitable for collection-based reuse. This crossover will not be considered in the detailed LCA study. However, as with storage of leftover paint, method crossover will be included in the interactive model. The interactive model is discussed in Section 7. It should also be noted that, in the collection-based scenario, if a collection facility knows that leftover paint will be incinerated, paint may not be dried/stabilized prior to incineration.

A seventh method within the consumer-based scenario – alternate disposal method – was considered during the scoping process. This includes instances in which liquid latex paint is disposed of as mixed municipal solid waste or in a sewer. At this time, it is not clear whether there is adequate data for conducting a life cycle assessment of the alternate methods for disposing of leftover paint. Prior to conducting the LCA, a literature review will be conducted to determine whether data concerning the public health and environmental impacts of the alternate methods for disposing of leftover latex paint is available. If no data is found, the life cycle assessment will not consider the alternate disposal method. Likewise, if data is found and indicates that the benefits of avoiding these methods are relatively minor, the life cycle assessment will again not consider the alternate disposal method. However, if the literature review yields data suggesting that the benefits of avoiding the alternate methods for disposing of leftover paint are substantial and could potentially affect the outcome of the life cycle assessment, PPSI may decide to include the seventh method in the LCA. While the literature review is included in the Scope of Work, an LCA of the alternate disposal method is not included.

Scope of Work – Leftover Paint LCA1

Figure 1. Leftover Latex Paint Pathways for the Consumer-based Scenario

Figure 2. Leftover Latex Paint Pathways for the Collection-based Scenario

Scope of Work – Leftover Paint LCA1

A stand-alone LCA of each of the six methods, assuming that 100% of the leftover latex paint is managed as intended, will be conducted. These are referred to as pure methods and include:

Pure Method 1: Consumer-based dry/stabilize and disposal (assumes all leftover latex paint is disposed of, considers the percentages of municipal solid waste that is landfilled and incinerated based on current municipal solid waste statistics)

Pure Method 2: Consumer-based user-to-user reuse (assumes all leftover latex paint is reused via a user-to-user exchange)

Pure Method 3: Collection-based dry/stabilize and disposal (assumes all waste is disposed of, considers the percentages of leftover latex paint set out with separated waste for collection and self-hauled to central facility, considers the percentages of waste that is landfilled and incinerated based on current municipal solid waste statistics)

Pure Method 4: Collection-based reuse (assumes all leftover latex paint is suitable for reuse, considers the percentages of leftover latex paint set out with separated waste for collection and self-hauled to central facility)

Pure Method 5: Collection-based recycling via consolidation (assumes all leftover latex paint is suitable for consolidation, considers the percentages of leftover latex paint set out with separated waste for collection and self-hauled to central facility,)

Pure Method 6: Collection-based recycling via reprocessing (assumes all leftover latex paint is suitable for reprocessing, considers the percentages of leftover latex paint set out with separated waste for collection and self-hauled to central facility)

Sensitivity analysis of each pure method will consider variations within the method, as well as other key factors identified from the LCA results. For example, a sensitivity analysis of method 1 would include use of cat litter as a drying agent and differences in relative percentages of landfilling/incineration, as well as other key factors identified from the LCA results.

An example of the pure method for collection-based reuse is:

Pure Method 4: Collection-based reuse


In reality, the national average leftover latex paint supply is not entirely suitable for reuse or recycling. Thus, pure methods for paint management by reuse and recycling will be adapted to modified puremethods in order to account for the percentage of the national average leftover paint supply that is unsuitable by management by that method. This will approximate actual management of leftover paint intended for each management method and provide a common basis for comparing the six methods (i.e., management of a specified amount of the national average leftover paint supply). In order to keep the modified methods as pure as possible (no crossover to other methods), the percentage of the national average supply that is unsuitable for management by each reuse or recycling method will be modeled as managed by dry/stabilize and dispose. An example of the modified method for collection-based reuse is:

Modified Method 4: Collection-based reuse of leftover latex paint

The results of the pure methods will be presented and used to evaluate the impacts associated with the six different methods for disposing of, reusing, and recycling leftover latex paint that is suitable for each method. The results of the modified methods will be presented and used to evaluate each of the six methods on a common basis, i.e., based on the national average composition and quality of leftover latex paint and the extent to which that paint is suitable for reuse and recycling.

Intended Audience

The primary audience of the LCA study will be the members of the Paint Product Stewardship Initiative (PPSI), who will use the results of the LCA and CBA studies to understand and weigh the environmental and economic benefits and impacts of alternate methods for managing leftover latex paint. The PPSI will use the LCA-CBA results along with the finding of the other ten PPSI projects as the basis for a dialogue with interested stakeholders regarding the development of a nationally coordinated paint management system.