MariLCA is a collaboration of the Life Cycle Initiative, FSCLI e.V., Politécnica Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP), CIRAIG, UCSB and NTNU and funded by Plastics Europe and the funding partners of the Life Cycle Initiative. The project lasts five years and works to harmonize the development of environmental impact pathways and characterization factors for marine impact assessment in LCA, specifically from marine (plastic) litter, in three phases:
- Development of a framework paper on different impact pathways associated with marine litter and identifying of the gaps and building blocks, (2019).
In June 2020, a framework paper was presented in collaboration with NTN University of Norway to over 90 people during MarILCA’s ‘Webinar on Introducing the Methodological Framework.’ This was published in the Ecological Indicators journal in July 2021, by John S. Woods, Francesca Verones, Olivier Jolliet, Ian Vázquez-Rowe and Anne-Marie Boulay.
- Fill in methodological gaps in LCIA related to marine litter (2019 – 2022).
In April 2021, a paper presenting effect factors was published in the Journal of Industrial Ecology, entitled Aquatic micro- and nano-plastics in life cycle assessment: Development of an effect factor for the quantification of their physical impact on biota. The publication, co-authored by Jérôme Lavoie, Anne-Marie Boulay and Cécile Bulle, provides effect factors which show the impact that micro- and nano plastics have physically in aquatic environments.
- Build consensus to deliver a harmonized and consensus-based impact pathway framework and methods addressing plastic litter impacts in LCA (2023-2025).
Other projects are ongoing, to model parts of these impact pathways (detailed here).