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Plastics a Material of Choice for the Packaging A material of choice for the packaging industry Insight into consumption and recovery in Western Europe Published autumn 2001 sign of the times plastics packaging meets the challenges of the 21st century Year by year, packaging transforms and Plastics’ diversity and inherent properties Durable and shatter proof It is therefore no surprise that there has reinvents itself, evolving to meet the make them an invaluable packaging Plastics packaging is practically been a consistently high growth in changing demands of modern society. material for all sorts of commercial and unbreakable, making handling safer, plastics consumption. Some 50 per cent Faced with a new contemporary industrial users around the world. reducing accidents and preventing waste of all Europe’s goods are now packaged individualism focused on convenience Designed and engineered for very specific from damage. in plastics yet, by weight, these plastics and aesthetics, producers in needs by exploiting their almost limitless account for only 17 per cent of all industrialised markets are tackling the adaptability, plastics packaging is essential Hygenic and safe packaging. This is due to the significant ever growing need for innovation. The to processing, storing, transporting, Plastics packaging protects against efficiencies in plastics packaging that developing world faces very different protecting and preserving products. contamination in foods and medicine and have been achieved, so that today the challenges, relying on packaging to helps prevent the spread of germs during average weight of packaging for a given preserve food and medication and to Versatile manufacture, distribution and display. article has reduced by 28 per cent over avoid waste. Plastics, with their unique Plastics’ versatility enables an almost Tamper-proof closures provide added the past 10 years. Moreover the amount and diverse combination of properties, infinite variety of thick, thin, rigid or Lightweight protection and security. of plastics packaging waste lost to are the ideal materials to meet these flexible packaging solutions, allowing for Plastics packaging requires less fuel for its landfill is not growing despite the growing demands of innovation and maximum protection of goods with manufacture and transportation than other Use less to do more production of more unit packs, thanks to performance, in a sustainable manner. minimum material. materials, in this way saving energy from While plastics are the most popular innovation in production and recovery beginning to end-of-life. Its inherent light choice of material in the packaging techniques that have improved prevention Percentage of plastics packaging in total packaging for Western Europe, 1999 weight also gives convenience in handling. sector, they are also prevention via source reduction and increased the champions, minimising total packaging level of recycling and recovery. Glass Cost effective required and saving resources. Energy consumption and potential Plastics packaging is often more environmental impacts are also reducing, 17% economic to produce in custom-made As standards rise and new demographic thanks to constant innovation in forms, cutting costs and increasing trends emerge, different market production and optimisation throughout affordability for consumers. Throughout demands are placed on packaging the supply chain due, for example, to 24% Plastics: 13 464 000 tonnes Others production and use, savings are created which plastics are well placed to satisfy. lighter weight. in labour, time, materials, energy and 8% operating costs. 11% Contents Metal Preserving shelf life Plastics packaging offers longer life 1 sign of the times 2 innovation in plastics packaging protection for perishable products, 40% reducing waste and use of preservatives. 3 plastics packaging consumption 5 prevention and Transparent saving resources 6 waste and waste management Paper, cardboard Transparent packaging allows people to look eco-efficiency sustainable development litter at food without having to touch it, cutting 8 9 10 TOTAL CONSUMPTION 70 287 100 TONNES down on bruising and other damage. 1 innovation in plastics packaging changing packages for changing lifestyles In an increasingly fast pace, and easier to carry, making plastics of pharmaceuticals is becoming a packaging materials. In packages place, in both industrial and developing individualistic society, convenience has packaging such as lightweight beverage widespread concern. Plastics packaging designed for extremely long storage countries. Some predict a future made of become a quest for many. Plastics containers ideal. can incorporate anti-counterfeiting times, such as steel cans, the inside of ‘all-in-one intelligent packaging’, which packaging pervades every aspect of measures such as ‘invisible’ package the can was at one time coated with a will replace the shopping basket, the modern life, from marketing to health, Standing out from the crowd coding systems or tamper-proof closures thin layer of tin or chromium to preserve fridge, the saucepan and the plate in one security to quality assurance. As production techniques develop and to help counter this – as well as giving the can from corrosion. In recent years a go. Others foresee a world where In developing countries, it plays an consumers are faced with a much wider added safety in use. thin plastic layer has been used instead packaging provides the solution for important role longer-term in helping to choice of products on their supermarket in order to prevent a metallic taste in transporting huge quantities of drinking raise standards of living and to provide shelves, they are also more aware of The quest for food quality certain canned products. water to countries experiencing severe more affordable goods to more people. what differentiates one product from Thanks to good packaging, food wastage drought. Whatever the future holds, new another, of the aesthetics of the in developed countries is low; only two to Challenges for developing countries plastics and the increasingly The trend towards convenience packaging as well as the information three per cent in Western Europe versus At present, one of the most pressing sophisticated demands of manufacturers, People expect packaging to combine a printed on the package itself. 50 per cent in developing countries. But needs in developing countries is for food retailers, distributors and consumers will number of convenience features. Packaging has become an integral consumers want shelf lives to be supply security – a clear challenge for certainly combine to make these In addition to protecting its contents and marketing tool, determining a brand’s extended still further, with the taste and plastics packaging. According to the innovations possible and offer extended keeping food fresh and free from individuality. Plastics’ ability to be nutritional value of food maintained at a Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), markets for plastics packaging. contamination, they want packages with produced in almost any colour and shape high level. every year, millions of tonnes of cereals, clear identification and labelling and means that packaging and the image it roots and tubers in developing countries which are easy to open and use. confers on the product are only limited Plastics packaging is able to continue never reach the consumer because of Social changes have major by our imaginations. meeting these demands. Recent poor storage, damage by pests, and implications for packaging. In particular, innovations include a plastics packaging transport and marketing problems. Some changing household size has a major What the doctor ordered solution which is only activated when the 30 – 50 per cent of food in developing impact on how goods are packaged – Modern health care would be impossible package is first filled, ‘eating’ oxygen and countries is lost between harvest and multi-pack or single, big or small? without many plastics medical products starving any bacteria that might be consumption because of inadequate Increasingly complex lifestyles mean that we take for granted, products as present. Another absorbs the ethylene packaging during storage and transit. more individuals eat alone and at times diverse as disposable syringes, given off by ripening fruit and is expected Food losses are correlated with convenient to them. Round the clock intravenous blood bags and heart valves. to be of special benefit in hotter areas of insufficient use of packaging. working patterns and larger numbers of But their success relies completely on the world where refrigeration is not Because of its inherent properties, women in the workplace also mean equipment being sterile. The challenge for readily available. Similar additives are plastics packaging can help improve fewer ‘traditional’ dinners and more packaging materials in this environment capable of absorbing unpleasant odours quality of life through better storage, the fleeting visits to the supermarket. is one to which plastics are similarly or can be used to prevent odour transfer provision of low cost, lightweight ‘Ready to eat’ packages and blister suited, with their exceptional barrier between different foodstuffs in the same containers that enable safe drinking water packs which supply individual and properties, light weight, low cost, storage space. to be made available, and preservation – useable portions have been designed to durability, transparency and compatibility especially important in humid climates. meet these
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