recycle bags

Packaging is used to protect the product and, in most cases, we can’t do without it.  It gets products from the manufacturer to the retailer and finally to the consumer in a condition which the consumer expects.  It also extends shelf-life, minimises breakage, safeguards public health and provides product information to consumers.

Damaged and wasted products could have far more of an environmental impact than the packaging saved, especially when a reasonable proportion of packaging material can be widely recycled. But it is important that the right amount of packaging is used – not too much nor too little. It would be unwise to reduce a product’s packaging, only to find that it has to be overly packaged to protect it when being transported to retail outlets (known as secondary packaging). Again it is about getting the balance right.

Packaging can protect and prolong the shelf life of some fruit and vegetables. Cucumber Growers Association tests show that unwrapped cucumbers are un-saleable after 3 days whilst using just under 2 grams of packaging keeps them fresh for 14 days.

Food waste is perhaps more of an issue than packaging waste, as when food rots down in landfill, it produces a ‘greenhouse gas’ called methane which is 23 times more potent than CO2 – so a balance has to be struck.  Did you know that in the UK we throw away 6.7 million tonnes of food each year and every tonne of food waste is responsible for 4.5 tonnes of CO2?

When we recycle, recyclable materials are reprocessed into new products, and as a result the amount of rubbish sent to landfill sites reduces. There are over 1,500 landfill sites in the UK, and in 2001, these sites produced a quarter of the UK’s emissions of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.