The ten most stubborn prejudices associated with plastic packaging
Although plastic packaging has many advantages, it is also confronted with numerous prejudices. The list of negatives includes the reproach that it contains harmful components alongside the implication that it is environmentally objectionable in the first place. But is flexible packaging really as bad as inferred or is its negative image perhaps unjustified? We performed a fact check of the ten most frequent prejudices.
Prejudice 1: Plastic packaging accounts for the bulk of the aggregate waste volume
Like other packaging materials, flexible packaging made of plastic soon ends up in the trash. That is undisputed. Then again, waste discussions generally focus on the trash volumes of large conurbations in third-world countries. This overlooks the fact that most plastics can be recycled.
In 2017, just under 6.15 million tonnes of plastic waste were accumulated in Germany. Of this volume, however, 99.4 per cent was forwarded to a recycling or reprocessing facility. 2.87 million tonnes were used as recyclables and raw materials, while 3.24 million tonnes were converted into energy (two thirds in waste incineration plants, one third as a replacement for fossil fuels in power plants, cement mills, etc.). As is the case in Germany, plastic waste elsewhere serves meaningful purposes instead of being stacked to form mountains. But to this end, it takes functional waste management procedures from the collection of plastics to conversion.
Prejudice 2: Plastic packaging is to blame for ocean littering
This is a common, very one-dimensional misconception. Flexible packaging is not the cause of ocean littering. It is merely visible proof of how carelessly waste is handled and in many places mismanaged.
Even today, some three billion people lack access to controlled waste management, many of them in coastal areas. The lack of waste management is what causes effectively recyclable materials to be discarded into the sea, in most cases by a few countries in Asia.
So if plastics were to be replaced with alternatives such as glass, aluminium, or tinplate, the waste problem would persist.
Prejudice 3: The production of plastic packaging generates considerable amounts of carbon dioxide
Contrary to its alternatives, flexible packaging is very lightweight. The mass of packaging made of other materials would be 3.6 larger on average. Not least because of expenditures related to transportation. this would increase energy consumption by a factor of 2.2 – in absolute terms: 1240 million gigajoules per year. The volume of expelled greenhouse gases would increase by about 61 million tonnes.
Incidentally, other lightweight packaging made of paper, pasteboard or cardboard do not per se have a better ecobalance. After all, paper mills impose considerable burdens on the environment because they consume huge amounts of wood, water, and energy. Additionally, for advertising reasons, cardboard packaging is often elaborately printed and enhanced with glossy coatings.
Prejudice 4: Plastic packaging delays the attainment of CO2 targets
In Germany, the carbon dioxide output caused by flexible packaging is only 0.6 per cent of the total output per year and per capita. 66 per cent of the total of 9.7 tonnes is due to consumption, nutrition, and energy while traffic accounts for another 23 per cent. The amount of carbon dioxide released during a holiday flight from Berlin to Mallorca and back is equivalent to that released by plastic packaging in 11 years.
Prejudice 5: Plastic packaging cannot be reused
This basically applies to single-use packaging whether made of plastic (candy bags), aluminium, or tinplate (tin cans) or cardboard (pizza boxes).
Returnable bottles made of plastic can be refilled up to 25 times. Bottle crates can even be reused indefinitely. According to a report by the German Association for Plastics Packaging and Films, 93.5 percent of all PET bottles were recycled in 2015. The rate of returnable PET bottles was 97.9.
Prejudice 6: All plastic packaging is produced from petroleum
That changed long ago. Meanwhile, biologically degradable plastic films have been introduced on the market, alongside films made of renewable raw materials that are manufactured totally without crude oil. Plastics production accounts for merely 4 per cent of the total consumption of petroleum. Of that volume, only 1.4 per cent is used for plastic packaging.
Prejudice 7: Plastic packaging is the main source of microplastics in the ocean
On average, every inhabitant of Germany generates 4 kg of primary and 1.2 kg of secondary microplastics. The abrasion of plastic packaging accounts for about 2.5 per cent of this volume, compared to 2.7 per cent attributable to shoe sole abrasion. Automotive tyre wear alone accounts for about 25 per cent. Many other sources are contributors, including cosmetics, textile fibre abrasion in washing machines, the abrasion of brooms and sweepers, or drift particles on sports- and playgrounds.
Prejudice 8: Plasticizers in plastic packaging change the hormone balance in children
Plastics with plasticizers are only rarely used for flexible packaging. They are not present at all in packaging for foods and beverages. Plasticizers are used to manufacture low-density PVC, especially for non-packaging applications such as flooring, cables, sports and leisure articles.
Prejudice 9: Food items such as fruit and vegetables are often needlessly packaged
About one third of all food items produced worldwide already spoil on the way to the consumer. Their shelf life can often be significantly extended with flexible packaging made of plastic. Thus, an unpackaged cucumber will last about three days as opposed to as many as 20 days for a packaged one. Additionally, the wrapper protects the vegetable against microbes that could be transferred by skin contact.
Prejudice 10: China is being paid for managing our plastic waste
The East Asian country is one of the world’s largest plastics processors. Accordingly, it requires large amounts of material. To cover its raw material requirements, China purchases about 7.3 million tonnes of plastic waste, including 1.6 million from the EU. In future, however, the People’s Republic wants to establish its own circular flow economy and harness the ecological and economical advantages of its own secondary raw materials.
Conclusion: Flexible packaging is clearly better than its reputation
As you can see, many prejudices related to plastic packaging can easily be contradicted. The material is not the problem. It is how it is handled. Basically, nothing speaks against the use of flexible packaging made of plastic as long as it is systematically recycled after use.
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Yours, Wipf AG
T +41 44 947 22 11 | info@wipf.ch
Source:
https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/daten/ressourcen-abfall/verwertung-entsorgung-ausgewaehlter-abfallarten
Gesellschaft für Verpackungsmarktforschung