The International Zinc Association’s Life Cycle Assessment team will present results from the recent LCA on ZAMAK produced from recycled materials (secondary ZAMAK). The LCA is based on 2024 industry data. Among the LCA impact categories considered is the product carbon footprint for secondary ZAMAK for the region of Europe.
Data sets from this new LCA for secondary ZAMAK have been distributed to relevant LCA database providers, such as Ecoinvent as well as to the EU Commission’s Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) 4.0 database, which aims to harmonize methodologies and allow less room for interpretation than LCA and carbon footprint standards like the International Organization for Standardization or Greenhouse Gas Protocol. Both Ecoinvent and the PEF database provide designers and specifiers with high-quality, up-to-date information for using secondary ZAMAK. In parallel, IZA helps downstream users access the information they need when choosing the material for their next innovative product design.
Recycling rates for zinc in Europe are impressive: 53 % of all zinc used in products is recycled at the end of its long use phase. Specifically, zinc die casting scrap is a welcome raw material for recyclers producing alloys for a new product life. Most zinc die cast scraps can be remelted and reused without degrading alloy properties.
You can learn more about the LCA results and the sustainability of zinc alloys, in addition to technological and market updates, at the Zinc Die Casting Conference 2025:
