Is Packaging Bad For The Environment?

Published on Wednesday, Jul 15 2015 Packaging is an essential part of the distribution of all goods. Without proper packaging, goods would get damaged or even destroyed during transportation. But is packaging bad for the environment and what is being done to prevent the carbon footprint left by packaging? The two main concerns of consumers today are that products are using too much packaging and that too much packaging is going to waste. These types of concerns have led to the development of ‘zero waste supermarkets’ where customers bring their own packaging and buy their items in bulk. This has been successful in countries such as Germany, but was less successful in the UK. ‘Unpackaged’ was a convenience store opened in London which sold products without packaging, however the shop only lasted for 6 years. This type of shop is not able to offer the consumer everything they want, such as branded good and long lasting foods, although the idea does highlight the need for better education when it comes to packaging. cardboard The idea that manufacturers are using too much packaging shows a lack of industry understanding. The more packaging a manufacturer uses, the higher their costs, therefore most manufacturers will use minimal packaging to keep costs down. However, the consumer does not realise this as they cannot see the need for all that packaging on the product in the shops because they have not seen the journey that product has had to get there. The packaging on the product has protected it, preventing it from damage on its journey to the shop. Without the packaging protecting the product, we would see a massive rise in product wastage. Another important issue to point out is that packaging prevents food waste. The technological advancements within the packaging industry mean that packaged foods have a much longer life, keeping them fresh and edible for a longer time. Without the packaging, we would see a huge increase in food wastage. One of the ways for companies to tackle the negativity towards packaging is to help educate the consumer. Companies need to communicate the reasons why they use certain packaging so that the consumer doesn’t feel that it is a waste. Secondly, more needs to be done to educate the consumer on how to recycle the packaging and why they should do so. The more informed the consumer is, the better decision they can make. Currently the packaging industry is awaiting the government’s new plans on waste and recycling. The conservative party have a good record when it comes to recycling as they dominate the recycling league tables, therefore we have high hopes that they will be able to help decrease the amount of packaging wasted. The important thing to remember is that while packaging can potentially have a negative impact on the environment, it is the way in which we deal with packaging that really makes the difference. Ensuring you have a proper recycling regime in place can help reduce the carbon footprint of packaging. It is also important to realise that packaging is an essential part of production and without it we would see much higher wastage in other areas such as food and products.