The need for packaging was induced by the manufacturing process and is carried out separately. And at different times, along with the production and transportation of goods produced. The relationship between production And consumption has established itself in packaging. And the urbanized communities and the significance of this connection are growing. As people’s lifestyles have changed, the role of packaging has caused a change in the ecosystem (Rundh, 2009). The packaging industry is growing at a very fast pace. And the increase in online shopping has enhanced the use of packaging (Brody, Bugusu, Han, Sand, & McHugh, 2008). The effects of packaging on the environment are both positive and negative. The adverse implications include the utilization of resources and the impact of waste. And emissions associated with packaging. The optimistic effect is that packaging allows different goods to be shipped. Enables products not otherwise available to be purchased.
Packaging wastes are a visible part of environmental problems (Pongrácz, 2007). The amount of waste generated and its disposal methods are critical issues for the environment. In 2012, European citizens generated 80 million tons of packaging waste, with paper accounting for 38%, plastic for 21%, glass for 20%, wood for 15%, and metal for 6% (Karak, Bhagat, & Bhattacharyya, 2012). Sweden is often described as a leader in waste management practices, sending less than 3% of its municipal waste to landfills; in fact, roughly 50% is incinerated, 20% is biologically treated, and 30% is sent for material recycling, often abroad (Cimpan, Maul, Jansen, Pretz, & Wenzel, 2015).
With the 2015 Chinese ban on low-quality plastic imports and the images of Southeast Asian countries overflowing with so-called European recyclable waste, a zero-waste movement is now slowly appearing in Sweden (O’Neill, 2018; Zaman & Lehmann, 2013). There is a growing emphasis on sustainable packaging; however, there is no simple global definition of what sustainable packaging entails (Brody et al., 2008). Approximately 70% of packaging is used for food and beverages (Verghese & Lewis, 2007). The increased awareness among customers about the environmental and social externalities of the food supply chain in developed countries has encouraged the opening of novelty grocery stores to renounce the use of disposable product packaging (Babader, 2015). The potential benefits provided by these novelty stores are, to date, not well quantified.
The life cycle approach, developed by ISO (ISO 14040:2006), And with methodological guidelines by the European Commission (European Commissioner, 2010), is the recommended methodology for assessing the environmental impacts of reusable packaging for food products. In addition to the life cycle approach for food products, the organizational LCA is carried out to identify and quantify the environmental factor inside and outside the organization’s gate. LCA methodology consists of four stages: goal and scope definition, life-cycle inventory (LCI) analysis, life-cycle impact assessment, and life-cycle interpretation. Data collection will be carried out using data provided by stakeholders within the system boundaries and will be documented. The framework of the GHG protocol is used to further account for and report the GHG emissions within and beyond the organization. As a result, this study employs a mixed-method approach to examine the prospects and impacts of reusable food packaging.
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Environmental Movement, The Problem of Product Packaging. (2023, Mar 08).
Retrieved November 21, 2024 , from https://studydriver.com/environmental-movement-the-problem-of-product-packaging/
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