Sustainable packaging

Sustainable Packaging is the development and use of packaging which results in improved sustainability. It involves increased use of life cycle inventory and life cycle assessment to help guide the use of packaging which reduces the environmental impact and ecological footprint. The goals are to improve the long term viability and quality of life for humans and the longevity of natural ecosystems.

Criteria

The criteria for ranking packaging based on their sustainability is an active area of development: ASTM Committee D-10 on Packaging and the Institute of Packaging Professionals have current activity. General guidance, metrics, checklists, and scorecards are being published by several groups.

Government, standards organizations, consumers, retailers [ cite web |url=http://walmartstores.com/FactsNews/NewsRoom/6039.aspx |title=Wal-Mart Unveils Packaging Scorecard to Suppliers |accessdate=2008-04-29|date= 2|year= 2008|month= November|publisher=Wal-Mart ] , and packagers are considering several types of criteria.

The broad goals of sustainable packaging are:
# Functional . [anon: "Packaging Matters", Institute of Packaging Professionals, 1993] - product protection, safety, regulatory compliance, etc
# Cost effective - if it is too expensive, it is unlikely to be used
# Support long-term human and ecological health

Specific factors for sustainable design of packaging might include:
* Use of minimal materials - reduced packaging, reduced layers of packaging, lower mass (product to packaging ratio), lower volume, etc
* Logistics efficiency (through complete life cycle)- cube utilization, tare weight, enablement of efficient transportation, etc
* Energy efficiency, total energy content and usage, use of renewable energy, etc
* Recycled content - as available and functional
* Recyclability - recovery value, use of materials which are highly recycled, reduction of materials which hinder recyclability of major components, etc
* Reusability of packaging - repeated reuse of package, reuse for other purposes, etc
* Use of renewable resources in packaging
* Use of biodegradable materials - where appropriate and does not contaminate recycling stream
* Effects on atmosphere/climate - ozone layer, greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide and methane), volatile organic compounds, etc
* Water use, reuse, treatment, waste, etc
* etc

ee also

* Bioplastics
* Cradle to cradle
* Industrial Ecology
* Packaging
* Sustainability metric and indices
* Waste management

References

External links

* [http://sustainablepack.org Sustainable Packaging Alliance]
* [http://sustainablepackaging.org Sustainable Packaging Coalition]
* [http://iopp.org Institute of Packaging Professionals]
* [http://www.fsc.org/en Forest Stewardship Council]
* [http://www.sgppartnership.org Sustainable Green Printing (SGP) Partnership]

Further reading

* Selke, S, "Packaging and the Environment", 1994, ISBN 1566761042
* Soroka, W, "Fundamentals of Packaging Technology", IoPP, 2002, ISBN 1-930268-25-4
* S.,Sterling, "Field Guide to Sustainable Packaging", 2008, [http://packworld.com]
* Stillwell, E. J, "Packaging for the Environment", A. D. Little, 1991, ISBN 0814450741