A Life Cycle Assessment study of a competition swimming pool tank: environmental impacts and sustainable solutions

Given the growing concerns about climate change and the necessity of resource conservation, it is crucial to raise awareness and develop sustainable solutions for industrial systems. Sports and wellness products are among the most growing sectors in developed economies. These sectors rely on the production of complex, long-lasting equipment, for which the awareness of potential environmental impacts is still low, making sustainability improvements difficult to implement. In particular, in literature there is a limited number of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies dedicated to competition swimming pool tanks. Thus, the aim of this paper is to assess, through LCA, the potential environmental impacts of a large public competition swimming pool tank, focusing on the manufacturing and end-of-life stages. Data is collected from an Italian company that produces and delivers competition swimming pool tanks made in steel and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) with a proprietary technology. This technology differs from traditional swimming pools that are made of concrete and ceramic tiles. The study advances the environmental impact awareness about this type of product, providing valuable insights for future decision-makers to explore sustainability opportunities. Results show that the raw materials production stage has the most relevant impact on all categories considered. The management of the end of life of the products is also relevant, and sensitivity analysis shows that PVC recycling can decrease the impact on climate change by 10% and water use by 20%.