I'm also looking for quality research on the total cost from cradle to grave. Most of what I've seen either only considers part of the cost or gives advice without explaining the reasoning...

For example: it's amazing how much discussion there is around using paper cups vs a ceramic cup. Or when plastic actually might be the best packaging material (keeping food fresh for longer and being lighter to transport).

Can anyone here point to non-biased, well researched articles on this topic? I would imagine academia is a good place, but I don't know where to start.