Transition toward circular economy in the agrifood seedling phase: A Life Cycle Assessment on tomato trays

National and international guidelines call for greater environmental sustainability in agriculture through the introduction of the circular economy. Recent studies investigate the introduction of new technologies and methodologies in the field, however, few focus on initial stages at the plant nursery or the management of the involved materials, and none scientifically calculate their environmental impact. To fill this gap, this paper focuses on an Italian case study that quantifies the environmental impact of the traditional seed trays used worldwide for growing, transporting and transplanting tomato seedlings, proposing and evaluating two alternatives from a circular economy perspective. To do this, the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology was applied to the traditional and to two new reusable, recyclable, washable seed trays, comparing their entire life cycles. Primary data, provided by three manufacturers, two nurseries and four agricultural farms, were modelled using SimaPro software. Their environmental impact was calculated considering the potentials of global warming, eutrophication, acidification, abiotic depletion of elements and fossil fuels, ozone layer depletion, water scarcity and photochemical oxidation. Results show that, irrespective of the type of material used for the seed pots, the extraction and production phase of the materials is the most impactful in the life cycles. The proposed trays resulted more environmentally sustainable than the traditional non-reusable expanded polystyrene tray. The work also quantified the environmental benefit achieved with the weight reduction of the seed pots and their better handling by operators, which avoided breakages and losses. Furthermore, it is shown how the proposed reusable solutions can be greener, reducing the impacts up to a third in the case of global warming potential. In conclusion, the research offers viable alternatives that can be used in the market all over the world, diminishing the overall impact of the seedling and transplanting phases.