Life cycle assesments

Question 1

The cycle is broken down into four main stages which are:

Answer 1

Raw Materials
Manufacture
Usage
Disposal

Question 2

Obtaining the necessary raw materials has an impact on the environment which may include:

Answer 2

Using up limited resources such as ores and crude oil

Damaging habitats through deforestation or mining

Question 3

Manufacturing processes also have an impact on the environment which may include:

Answer 3

Using up land for factories

The use of fossil fuelled machines for production and transport
Production of waste

Question 4

Usage of a product may also affect the environment although it depends on the type of product

The disposal of outdated products has an impact on the environment which may include:

Answer 4

Using up space at landfill sites

Whether the product or its parts can be recycled

Question 5

Problems with LCA’s

Answer 5

Some stages are easily quantifiable, e.g. the amount of water used during manufacturing of a product or quantity of waste materials produced

However, other stages are more difficult to allocate a numerical value to, e.g. the polluting effect of a product

In these cases, people can make a value judgement about their effect but this is not an objective process and different people may allocate different values, or they may be biased