Environment

Energy. Greenhouse Gases. Waste. Recycling. Litter. Consumers, companies, and countries grow more interested in these issues every day. Today’s focus is on sustainability, described by the United Nations as meeting today’s needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs. As efforts to improve sustainability increase, all sorts of packaging are under scrutiny, including plastics. 

From the field or factory to the front door, plastics make possible the latest innovations in sustainable packaging design. Plastics often enable companies to ship more products with less packaging material. Plastic packaging extends freshness, minimizes spoilage and breakage, saves energy, and reduces waste. And it’s never been easier to recycle plastic bottles, caps, bags, and containers at many locations and in many programs across the country.

When looking at the entire “life-cycle” of various packaging materials, plastics often compare favorably to other materials in areas such as energy and water use, air and greenhouse gas emissions and solid waste.

Light-weighting (source reduction)
 
How does plastic packaging help with sustainability? Simply put, it can help do more with less. Plastic packaging often is more energy efficient to make than other materials. It can take less lightweight plastic to package many products than alternatives. For example, only two pounds of plastics can deliver roughly 10 gallons of beverages...compared to three pounds of aluminum, eight pounds of steel or more than 40 pounds of glass. Lighter packaging means less fuel is used in shipping. For example, plastic bags require less total energy to produce than paper bags and conserve fuel in shipping (one truckload for plastic bags versus seven for paper).

And plastics engineers continually work to do even more with less—this process of light-weighting can help boost the environmental and economic efficiency of consumer product packaging. Since 1977, the two-liter plastic soft drink bottle has gone from 68 grams to 47 grams, representing a 31 percent reduction per bottle. This saved more than 180 million pounds of packaging in 2006—just for two-liter soft drink bottles alone. The one-gallon plastic milk jug has gone on a similar diet, weighing 30 percent less today than 20 years ago. » learn more on light-weighting

Reuse

Next to light-weighting (or source reduction), the U.S. EPA identifies “reuse” of packaging as the next highest priority in managing waste. Plastics packaging’s durability enables reusability in storage bins, sealable food containers and refillable sports bottles. And 90 percent of Americans report that they reuse plastic bags.

Recycling

Plastic packaging is valuable and should be recycled where possible. By doing more with less, plastic packaging helps improve sustainability—and then in many cases, recycling can further enhance its sustainability. 

Recycling varies from place to place, but most community curbside programs recycle plastic bottles—and many now recycle other plastic containers. A 2011 study found that 94 percent of Americans have access to recycle plastic bottles—and 40 percent also can recycle other types of plastic containers, such as yogurt cups, dairy tubs and lids. Most large grocery stores—and many large retail chains—today offer bins to collect plastics bags and wraps for recycling. And there is a growing number of innovative plastic foodservice recycling programs across the country.

What about those numbers and arrows on the bottom of plastic packaging? Plastics Make It Possible® has some answers to help everyone recycle more plastic packaging. And here’s an overview on plastics recycling in the United States...or dig deeper to learn about recycling rates and what happens to recycled plastics.