Packaging in the Environment

This book provides an in-depth appraisal of the key environmental issues for packaging and how these considerations are increasingly affecting trends and developments in the packaging industry. It is aimed al all those concerned with the manufacture, use and distribution of packaging, including raw materials suppliers, packaging convertors, fillers, packers and retailers. In particular, it should be helpful to all management - commercial, technical or those concerned with human resources. It will also be of interest to those involved in the management of waste - local governments, waste management organisations and materials recyclers. The editor has drawn together a first class international team of authors to identify and explain the principal environmental issues for packaging; discuss and compare the relative environmental merits and differences between different packaging materials and systems; review and discuss the action being taken in different countries, across the world, to address these issues; consider legislative and regulatory developments worldwide, the trends, and the extent to which they are converging; and describe and discuss the action that can and should be taken by all participating in the packaging chain, with particular emphasis on life cycle analysis or cradle-to-grave assessment.

Table of Contents:
1: Introduction - myths, facts and realities; G. Levy. 1.1. Overview. 1.2. Attitudes. 1.3. Myths. 1.4. Measuring-up. 1.5. Interpreting the facts. 1.6. Environmental costs and burdens. 1.7. Pre-empting the facts - recycling. 1.8. Realities. 1.9. A business issue. 1.10. Legislation. 1.11. A necessity not an option. 2: Packaging's role in society; J. Bickerstaffe, E. Barrett. 2.1. Early packaging. 2.2. Packaging for preservation. 2.3. The supermarket revolution. 2.4. Types of packaging. 2.5. Functions of packaging. 2.6. Product losses through spoilage. 2.7. Costs of packaging. 2.8. Packaging reflects a changing lifestyle. 3: Review of environmental legislation - The European Community; G.H. Williamson. 3.1. Introduction. 3.2. European Community environmental policy and regulation. 3.3. Packaging and packaging waste in the context of European Community environmental legislation. 3.4. Substance of European Community environmental legislation on packaging. 3.5. Other European Community legislation affecting packaging. 3.6. Overview of national measures. 3.7. Conclusion. 4: Review of environmental legislation - North America; J. Heckman, J. Foley. 4.1. Overview. 4.2. U.S. regulation of solid waste disposal. 4.3. Recycling. 4.4. State and local regulation. 4.5. Environmental advertising andlabeling. 4.6. State regulation. 4.7. Control of toxic substances in packaging. 4.8. Impact on packaging. 4.9. Conclusion. 5: Environmentally responsible packaging manufacture; D. Beynon. 5.1. Introduction. 5.2. Environmental management and organisation. 5.3. Role of the packaging manufacturer. 5.4. Categorisation of packaging environmental impacts. 5.5. Package design and material selection. 5.6. Review of manufacturing operations. 5.7. Identification and control of manufacturing impacts. 5.8. Communication. 5.9. Summary of conclusions. References. 6: Lifecycle assessment of packaging; P. White, P. Fjindle, K. Drager. 6.1. Introduction. 6.2. Lifecycle assessment in context - value: impact assessment. 6.3. Lifecycle analysis - the inventory stage. 6.4. Evaluating lifecycle analysis results. 6.5. Packaging lifecycle assessment in practice - a worked example. 6.6. Using lifecycle assessment in reverse. 6.7. Future developments in lifecycle assessment. Acknowledgements. References. 7: The challenge of domestic waste disposal; A. Marsden. 7.1. Introduction. 7.2. Totality of waste management. 7.3. Quantities of household waste. 7.4. Resource recovery. 7.5. Waste minimisation. 7.6. Disposal of municipal solid waste - European practice. 7.7. Waste disposal techniques. 7.8. Integrated waste management. 7.9. Conclusions for the packaging industry. 8: