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HealthcareLCA
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The growing production of pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals, e.g., methylcobalamin supplements, improves the health of people. This study assesses the environmental footprint of chewable methylcobalamin supplements in four packaging types: blister packs or bottles made of HDPE, PET, or glass. A cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment is conducted to evaluate the supply to Belgian consumers of the recommended daily dose of methylcobalamin supplementation (1.2 mg) in case of deficiency. The impact of methylcobalamin manufacturing in major producing countries (China as baseline and France) is analyzed based on detailed synthesis modeling of data points coming from patents. The overall carbon footprint (CF) is dominated by the transport of consumers to the pharmacy and methylcobalamin powder manufacturing in China (while its mass share per supplement is only 1 %). The impact is the lowest for supplements in HDPE bottles (6.3 g CO2 eq) and 1 %, 8 %, and 35 % higher for those in PET bottles, glass bottles, and blister packs, respectively. Tablets in blister packs have for other investigated impact categories (fossil resource footprint (FRF); acidification; eutrophication: freshwater, marine, and terrestrial; freshwater ecotoxicity; land use; and water use) the highest footprint and those in HDPE and PET bottles for most the lowest. The CF of methylcobalamin powder manufacturing in France is 22 % lower than in China (2.7 g CO2 eq), while the FRF is similar in both locations (26–27 kJ). The FRF and the difference in the CF are chiefly due to energy use and solvent production emissions. Similar trends as the CF are found for other investigated impact categories. Valuable conclusions are drawn for environmental studies on pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals: (i) including accurate data on consumer transport, (ii) using more environmentally-friendly active ingredients, (iii) choosing appropriate packaging types considering multiple aspects: convenience, environmental footprint, etc., and (iv) providing a holistic picture through assessing various impact categories.
"Supplements in plastic bottles (HDPE and PET) are characterized by the lowest total CF, while the use of blister packs results in the highest, and glass bottles have a mediocre footprint. Tablets in blister packs have for all other investigated impact categories the highest footprint and those in HDPE and PET bottles for most the lowest. "
"The main potential points of improvement of the overall environmental footprint include: i) using MeCbl powder from an intensified fermentation process (e.g., having a higher cobalamin yield at fermentation, decreased energy use for the cobalamin extraction, increased efficiency of downstream recovery and/or a reduced solvent use), ii) enhancing the transport to consumers, iii) applying sustainable packaging materials, i.e., having little packaging materials per tablet while avoiding more tablet losses and materials that are recycled such as PET and HDPE bottles, and iv) advancing the reuse and recycling of waste streams."
"The present study's findings are important in providing a more extensive picture of the environmental footprint of diets, of which some, such as plant-based diets, are advised to be supplemented with some micronutrients."
For a complete summary of this data source and to see reported environmental impact values for studied products and activities, explore the HealthcareLCA Database.