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Reverse vending machine for single-use beverage packaging: environmental and economic life-cycle assessment
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DOI：10.1007/s10098-026-03542-4.png)
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Abstract
En 中文
Reverse vending machines (RVMs) are increasingly deployed within deposit-refund systems to support circular-economy strategies for single-use beverage packaging. However, their environmental and economic performance remains poorly quantified, particularly in contexts lacking formal barcoding or extended producer responsibility frameworks. This study presents an empirical life-cycle assessment (LCA)-life-cycle costing (LCC) of the Koopaal D1 stand-alone RVM using real-world operational data from an emerging-market context lacking formal EPR and barcode infrastructure. Environmental impacts were evaluated across the Build, Use, and End-of-Life (EoL) phases for 1,000,000 beverage containers (60% PET, 40% aluminum; 21 t) collected over a 5-year service-life scenario. The Build phase was the most resource- and carbon-intensive stage, with toxicity impacts driven mainly by electronic components, metal structures, and display units. The Use phase accounted for 57.5% of total global warming potential, with electricity as the dominant contributor. This burden reflected not only measured electricity demand but also the fossil-based, upstream-emission intensity of the modeled national electricity grid; lower-carbon electricity supply would therefore reduce use-phase GWP. The EoL phase contributed less than 4% of total impacts under the cut-off model, although mixed-plastic and municipal solid-waste treatment remained the main EoL hotspots. Sensitivity analysis showed that electricity demand, electronic components, belt replacement, and recycling efficiency influenced environmental results. The simplified production-cost-based LCC indicated a baseline net loss of USD 19,720 over the 5-year scenario, shifting to a net gain of USD 7,780 only under combined advertisement-revenue and OpEx-subsidy assumptions. Longer service life and higher throughput could improve baseline economic performance. Integrating real operational data with parallel LCA and simplified LCC provides practical insights for improving automated collection systems under non-EPR deployment conditions. The results should be interpreted as site- and scenario-dependent rather than as a consequential assessment of a complete RVM. Empirical LCA–LCC of the Koopaal D1 stand-alone reverse vending machine showing environmental hotspots acrosslife-cycle stages, key sensitivity levers, and scenario-dependent economic performance in a non-EPR, no-barcode context.
Keywords:
Reverse vending machine
Deposit–refund system
Life-cycle assessment
Life-cycle costing
Circular economy
Single-use beverage packaging
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