Pharmaceutical and Medical Packaging News
Magazine
PMPN Article Index
Originally Published January 1998
OUR VIEW
What Contributes to the Environmental Equation
Other factors besides recycling have environmental impact.
The Alliance of Foam Packaging Recyclers (AFPR) fosters environmental awareness among manufacturers and users of expanded polystyrene (EPS) packaging. The AFPR follows the Environmental Protection Agency's hierarchy of solid waste management, and also maintains an active relationship with original equipment manufacturers, offering advice about waste disposal options such as recycling.
A recent survey of original equipment manufacturers, commissioned by the AFPR, indicated a general consensus that more than recyclability contributes to making a packaging product environmentally friendly. Although recyclability was cited as an important factor, other nontraditional factors were also listed. Among these were performance, distribution environment, and cost. These factors, which at first may seem surprising, make sense when considered as a part of the larger environmental picture.
How does packaging performance affect the environment? Using high-performance transport packaging leads to less product damage that, in turn, means less solid waste disposal. For example, if an inadequately packaged, fragile medical instrument breaks during shipping, it must be remanufactured and reshipped. The fuel used to transport it is wasted as well as the energy used to make it. Packaging the product properly in the first place saves fuel, materials, time, and money.
The distribution environment also has a significant impact on the environmental equation, because attitudes and policies vary greatly from one country to the next. These differences create a complex global situation: packaging materials that are considered environmentally friendly in one region may not be in another. In addition, some countries require that manufacturers take responsibility for the cost of disposing, reusing or recycling their products' used packaging. As a result, it is important to choose a packaging material that will meet the environmental expectations of a variety of distribution environments.
Another factor that is essential to the equation is cost. Today's distributors and packaging suppliers must work as a team to reduce costs—to the environment and to the bottom line. Packaging suppliers and industry trade groups can offer distributors a wealth of information about packaging requirements and reuse options available. Distributors can share their exact packaging needs and expectations. This sharing of information ensures the design and use of the most effective and efficient forms of packaging possible, saving money and, ultimately, reducing waste.
There is no question that recycling plays an important role in protecting the environment, but recycling is just one factor to be considered. The OEM survey indicates that decision makers consider a variety of factors when choosing a packaging material. Of course, one important factor is the bottom line. But packaging decisions are also based on the effects that performance, distribution environment, and cost have on the environmental equation.
Betsy de Campos has been an advocate for technical and recycling advancements for the polystyrene industry with a strong focus on expanded polystyrene transport packaging. For more information, contact the Alliance of Foam Packaging Recyclers at 410/451-8340, fax 410/451-8343, or visit the AFPR's Web site at http://www.epspackaging.org.
