Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
8
PLASTICS AND HEALTH IMPACTS
Packaging is the leading application sector for plastics, accounting for
35-40% of the global consumption of resin. The largest segment of the
approximately $500 billion global packaging market is food packaging, with
beverage packaging a distant second. Food and beverage packaging
comprises 55-65% of the packaging in the United States (Brody, 2008), and
in 2008, 38% of all food packaging was made of plastic (with paperboard
claiming another ~30% of the market share). In the packaging sector, rigid
plastic packaging is the fastest growing segment of the market. Even
paperboard packaging and metal cans often incorporate a plastic film on
the interior surface in contact with food. Paper-based multilayer packs, such
as Tetrapak used to package beverages, also rely on layers of plastic in the
construct. With the shift over to recyclable material in packaging plastics
benefit as they are easily recyclable and are a cost-effective material with
exceptional performance. Practical sustainability guidelines consistent with
the elements in the discussion on sustainability (
Chapter 2
) can be derived
for plastic-based food packaging (van Sluisveld, 2013).
Food packaging and food service plastics have the shortest service lifetime
of any plastic product manufactured and end up in the waste or litter at a
much faster rate compared to other plastic products. Packaging therefore
has implications on sustainable development for several reasons. First, being
a high-volume-use sector, plastic packaging produces waste that can end
up in urban litter and even as ocean debris (see
Chapter 10
)
. There is no
efficient mechanisms to collect, recycle, or dispose of most plastic litter.
Secondly, some of the primary plastic packaging is used in contact with
food or beverages, and the possibility of additives (and residual monomer)
leaching out of the package into the contents via slow diffusion is a concern
as some of these compounds, even at low concentrations can be toxic. Also,
the packaging sector places a significant demand on fossil fuel resources with
only very modest recycling rates achieved in plastic food packaging; the best
recycling rates in the US are obtained for PET beverage bottles.
