Carbon footprint of recycled biogenic products: the challenge of modelling CO₂ removal credits

Figures & data

Table 1 Schematic data in exemplary amounts for the example product.

GHG flow in CO2e	Exemplary amount
GHG removal from atmosphere by plant growth	2.8
GHG release to atmosphere from final disposal	2.8
GHG emissions from primary production process	1.2
GHG emissions from recycling process	1.9
GHG emissions from disposal process	0.9

Figure 1 Distribution of GHG emissions and removals over the life cycles for the common practice approach.

Figure 2 Distribution of GHG emissions and removals over the life cycles for the ‘polluter pays’ approach.

Figure 3 Distribution of GHG emissions and removals over the life cycles for the conservative approach.

Figure 4 Distribution of GHG emissions and removals over the life cycles for a partitioning approach.

Figure 5 Ranges of resulting net GHG emissions for the different modelling approaches for primary, recycled and disposed biogenic material; circles indicate values of the common modelling.