Prospective Life Cycle Assessment and Costing of a Laboratory-Scale Banana Pseudostem Enrichment Prototype for Rodents: Hotspot Identification and Improvement Scenarios Under Infectious Waste Management

The global use of millions of small rodents annually in medical research creates a need for environmental enrichment that is both practical and sustainable. This study investigated the use of banana pseudostem, an agricultural residue, as a potential material for a laboratory-scale rodent enrichment prototype. A life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle costing (LCC) were conducted under a cradle-to-grave system boundary that included production, facility use, sterilization, freezer storage, transport, and infectious waste management. The prototype had a global warming potential (GWP) of 28.40 kg CO2 eq per functional unit. The results showed that the production phase was the dominant contributor to the environmental impacts and costs. Heat pressing was identified as the main hotspot resulting from high electricity demand, while labor was the main cost contributor, as the manual production process at the laboratory scale was time-consuming. The scenario analysis revealed that modifying the press machine to press two pieces simultaneously reduced GWP by 37.54% and total life cycle cost by 29.11%. Full substitution of grid electricity with photovoltaic electricity for heat pressing reduced GWP by about 67.47%. Extending the replacement interval from 3 to 7 days showed the largest GWP reduction of 56.35%, although this option requires confirmation of animal welfare, hygiene, and structural durability. Although banana pseudostem is a renewable agricultural residue, the environmental impacts and costs of the prototype were mainly due to energy-intensive processing at the laboratory scale rather than the raw material. Further improvement in production efficiency and electricity sourcing is required to reduce impacts and increase the feasibility of the banana pseudostem enrichment prototype.