Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
8.1 PACKAGING VERSUS THE CONTENTS
As the primary function of a package is to protect the contents (food or
beverage), it is reasonable to expect a “cost” in terms of an environmental
footprint to be incurred in its use. Affording mechanical protection,
maintaining the shelf-life of food, reducing food waste, and the controlling
chemical or biological contamination of the contents ensured by plastic
packaging often justify this environmental cost. However, the costs need to
be in proportion to the value of the product being protected. In addition
to the material and labor expended in fabrication, the “cost” of energy and
environmental impacts associated with preparing a product for the market,
need to be considered. Generally, the embedded energy and environmental
impacts of packaging turn out to be much smaller than those for the
contents, making most plastic packaging a reasonable strategy. High-value
items such as medication, cosmetics, or electronic goods are packaged at a
minute fraction of their costs.
A European study on various food packages (of rye bread, ham, and soy
yogurt products) found that only 2-5% of the carbon footprint of the
product could be attributed to packaging (Silvenius et al., 2011). The carbon
footprint is indirectly related to the embodied energy of the package. There
can, however, be exceptions (Williams and Wikström, 2011) as recently
