Packaging ::
[Previous :: Paper and Board Manufacturing]
Overview
Although packaging has, in recent years, been accused of using up valuable resources, it is nevertheless absolutely essential. Packaging is vital to protect and conserve the items contained within it.
The dominant purpose of packaging is to protect the product so that it reaches the consumer in the same condition as when it was first made. However there is a lot more to the effectiveness and usefulness of packaging than just protection. When a consumer picks up their carton of freshly squeezed mango juice, they are not aware of the energy and money saved by the packaging they are grasping in their hands.
In order to fully understand the essential role packaging plays in every day life, it is necessary to understand the guiding principles behind it.
Why packaging is necessary
Protection of the product means that there must be a resistance to both internal and external corrosion, with effective properties that guarantee resistance to gas, oxygen, water and smells.
Packaging must be safe, it must be impregnable and have safeguards in place to show that it has not been tampered with.
Figure 1 :: Examples of packages with seals
[Source: www.sainsburys.co.uk]
Much of consumer confidence in the products they buy derives from the knowledge that the product has not been opened or tampered with, as seen through the existence of visible seals on products such as the mango juice carton.
Packaging is vital to conserve the product. In industrialised countries only 2% of products are spoilt when they reach the consumer compared with a staggering 30-50% in developing countries, where the packaging chain is less well developed.
Packaging must meet consumer requirements that products are not just kept in top condition but that they are kept fresher for longer.
Packaging also performs overtly technical functions, displaying what the product actually is and information regarding the product, as well as creating brand awareness. Consumer demands and legislative requirements mean that information contained on packaging has become far more specific, for example, detailing the origin and composition of the product.
Packaging is also the spokesperson for the manufacturer of the product. The package is the interface between the maker and consumer and therefore must present a desirable image. One of the best examples of which is the Coca-Cola bottle shape which is known the world over and is protected as a registered trade mark.
Figure 2 :: Globally recognised Coca-Cola bottle and other examples of packaging used as manufacturer-to-consumer interface
Types
Packaging can be broken down into five main types:-
- Paper and board
- Plasti
- Glass
- Metal
- Wood
All meet the different needs of the consumer, producer, transporter etc.
Figure 3 :: Examples of different types of packaging
One of the most popular types of packaging is paper and cardboard. It is easy to see why when one considers that paper and cardboard packaging is cheap, lightweight, easy to use and store, and can be easily compressed.
The Packaging Supply Chain
The first link in the chain is the manufacturer of the packaging material, this basic material is then bought by a specialist packaging manufacturer company (a converter).
The specialist manufacturer then provides the company who will use the packaging for their product (a packer/filler) with a homogenous template onto which the company will add their own identity, through labelling, branding etc.
The packaging is then delivered onto the next stage of the chain where it will pass through the hands of the wholesaler, the retailer, and the consumer.
At the end of the chain, the packaging can be recycled, reused or disposed of.
The importance of packaging on the economy of Europe is highlighted by the fact that 63% of all goods that circulate on the European market in any given year return to the packaging chain, with a value of EURO 538 billion.
[See also the diagram of the supply chain in 'Fibre-based packaging']
Categories of packaging
Primary
This involves all packaging that is in direct contact with the product. Hence primary packaging could be soft drink bottles, sweet wrappers or the inner bag of cereal boxes. Primary packaging can also be described as part of the product. If sweets come with a sweet dispenser that pops the sweets into the hand, that sweet dispenser would be known as primary packaging. Primary packaging performs the dual purpose of protecting the product and advertising the product for the manufacturer.
Figure 4 :: Primary packaging :: Hob nob packet and sweet dispenser
Secondary
This is designed to collate primary packaging so that it can be handled manually. Hence a box, containing many soft drinks, or shrink wrap would be secondary packaging. Secondary packaging is used so that goods can be transported more easily, saving energy and costs.
Figure 5 :: Secondary packaging showing a box of beer bottles and shrink wrapped water bottles
Tertiary
This is used to transport products in large numbers. Hence a crate or pallet containing many small shrink wraps is tertiary packaging. In fact tertiary packaging can also come in large shrink wraps with small ones inside.
Figure 6 :: Tertiary packaging
Environment and legislation
[See also the page on Recycling and Waste Paper]
The Environment
The most obvious solution to help protect the environment from unnecessary packaging waste is to produce less. This means a reduction in the quantity of materials and other resources used in packaging. Packaging manufacturers are investing and researching into making packaging that is lightweight, compact and made from recycled materials, whilst using renewable resources, wherever possible.
The next solution being adopted by the packaging industry, is recovery of material and energy from waste packaging. This can be done by reusing or recycling packaging or by incinerating and recovering the energy value of the waste.
Finally and inevitably there must be landfill sites. For certain products and under certain circumstances this is the only applicable solution.
Further Information
In legislative terms, the 1994 European Parliament Council Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste, obliges all Member States to develop a rigorous waste management policy. The main aims of the Directive were to reduce the impact of packaging on the environment and ensure the functioning of a single European market for packaging and packaging products.
Information sourced from europen website :: www.europen.be
Anyone interested in finding out more about packaging and the environment should go to www.incpen.org. This is an interesting website containing a huge amount of information about packaging and how it impacts on the environment.
Some examples of the type and range of articles available at the website are: Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP) reports on packaging and sustainability, Consumer attitudes to packaging survey and a thorough examination of the Packaging Waste Directive 2004/12/EC.
Further information regarding packaging waste can be found at www.wasteonline.org.uk
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