Sustainable Packaging
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david
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Despite our best efforts, most of us find ourselves going through a lot of material that comes into our homes and leaves it just as fast. One of the big culprits on this unecological treadmill is the enormous amount of packaging that the products we buy come in. Fortunately, there has been a strong trend in recent decades to convert to a model of more sustainable packaging practices.
Starting in the late 80s, policymakers began creating legislation and rules that addressed the waste stream involved in the production and use of packaging. The 1988 Pollution Prevention Act included measures to reduce waste, lower the amount of packaging, and employ materials for packaging that could be recycled. In 2002 the EAP created a program that required materials to be recyclable.
Industry has come up with some innovative solutions that promote more sustainable packaging. One useful development is the use of biopolymers, plant fibers that have many of the same properties that go into the plastics used in packaging. These fibers come from pineapple, banana, flax, hemp and other plants. Packaging made from these materials will break down in a year or two in contrast to the 500 to 1000 years it takes plastics to break down.
Manufacturers are also trying to re-conceive of packaging in terms of what is called a circular economy, the economy imagined as a use and waste stream that, in the best circumstance, replenishes itself through good environmental practices. This means that producers are redesigning the production process for more sustainable packaging that involves less waste going into it, reduced amounts of packaging for the same use, and packaging that is nontoxic, biodegradable, and can be recycled.
If these efforts take hold, it could make a big difference in packaging’s environmental impact.
For more background see:
https://www.merchantboxes.com/blog/the-history-of-us-packaging-regulations
