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On behalf of the FBS (Federal Association of Concrete Sewer Systems), Fraunhofer UMSICHT prepared a life cycle assessment of the environmental impact of wastewater pipes made of (steel) concrete. This also functions as an association environmental product declaration (EPD-Environmental Product Declaration) and is publicly accessible via the ÖKOBAUDAT database (in German).

In addition, Fraunhofer UMSICHT compared the environmental impacts from the extraction of raw materials to the recycling of drainage systems made of (steel) concrete with pipelines made of plastic.

In the comparative life cycle assessment, the researchers at Fraunhofer UMSICHT determined the carbon footprint of wastewater pipes made of (steel) concrete and four types of plastic (GRP, PVC, PE, PP) across all available diameter sizes.

For the material comparison, commercial and publicly available environmental data of various materials were used for a defined diameter and related to a service life of 100 years.

In the life cycle assessment, the researchers took into account the energy and resource consumption for the production, installation and use phases, including the recycling of sewer pipes.

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