SUSTAINABILITY RATING CHARTS BOOKLET
The Sustainability Ratings Charts aim at helping businesses to make more informed purchasing decisions when it comes to sourcing alternative products by providing immediate information about the impacts of alternatives in a way that is easy to understand with a traffic light system.
EXPLANATION OF INDEX
The index takes into consideration the impact of the product’s material, the size of packaging, its reusability and end-of-life facilities for alternative products available in the Balearic Islands.
The products that businesses are keen to replace are positioned above each table with their sustainability rating clearly displayed.
The potential alternatives that can be used to replace the single-use plastic product are then listed on a scale of 1–10.
A solution rated 0 has the least negative impact, a solution rated 10 has a high negative impact and corresponding traffic light colours provide a more visual demonstration. All suggested alternatives are compliant with the EU Plastics Directive.
The ratings charts also include “responsible disposal” instructions for the alternatives that are listed. Ideally, when products cannot be avoided, the alternatives would be chosen in accordance with what material is most compatible with the local waste infrastructure. A list of disposal methods and further explanation on materials are provided in in the booklet. Disposal methods for “reusable” products are relevant when the product is no longer fit for purpose.
Please note: The information in this guide is based on how materials are processed in mainland Spain and the Balearic Islands. Whilst it is likely to be very similar in other areas of Europe, it is recommended that businesses check with their waste collection contractors and/or directly with waste management facilities.
EXAMPLES
Single-use water bottles
| Tap water | 0 | |
| Dispenser with returnable big size water container | 2.14 | |
| Reusable bottle with filtered water in site | 2.2 | |
| Medium glass bottle (local and disposable) | 4.4 | |
| Carton box of water | 7.38 |
Plastic cups
| Reusable cups made from glass | 2.93 | |
| Reusable cups made from stainless steel | 3.01 | |
| Reusable cups from hard plastic | 4.27 | |
| Single-use paper cups lined with home compostable plastic | 6.49 | |
| Single-use paper cups lined with traditional plastic | 6.79 | |
| Single-use cups made from industrially compostable plastic | 7.01 |
Single-use masks
| Reusable masks made of coffee yarn | 2.84 | |
| Reusable masks made of cotton | 3.51 | |
| Reusable transparent plastic face shield | 4.27 | |
| Single-use hemp masks lined with corn-starch | 7.02 | |
| Single-use masks made from bio-based materials | 7.02 |
