Environmental Footprints Of Packaging

This book presents detailed discussions concerning the environmental footprints of various packaging systems and materials, life cycle assessments of packaging, sustainable design of various packaging systems and materials, as well as the biodegradation of various packaging materials.

Packaging plays a major role in the environmental footprints of products from any industrial sector, and thus is important to address the sustainability issues of packaging. Packaging and the packaging sector have to be eco-conscious as there are many types of packaging across various industrial sectors and so are their environmental impacts as well. Plastic packaging is one of the most common element and the packaging sector accounts for almost 40% of plastic pollution in the world. Sustainable packaging is the only way forward to alleviate the environmental devastations from the the packaging sector. This book presents case studies and discusses how to make packaging more sustainable for a better future. ​

The packaging industry is under pressure from regulators, customers and other stakeholders to improve packaging’s sustainability by reducing its environmental and societal impacts. This is a considerable challenge because of the complex interactions between products and their packaging, and the many roles that packaging plays in the supply chain. Packaging for Sustainability is a concise and readable handbook for practitioners who are trying to implement sustainability strategies for packaging. Industry case studies are used throughout the book to illustrate possible applications and scenarios. Packaging for Sustainability draws on the expertise of researchers and industry practitioners to provide information on business benefits, environmental issues and priorities, environmental evaluation tools, design for environment, marketing strategies, and challenges for the future.

Life Cycle of Sustainable Packaging An expert review of packaging’s role in sustainability and the environment In Life Cycle of Sustainable Packaging: From Design to End of Life, a team of distinguished researchers delivers an authoritative and accessible explanation of the role played by packaging in sustainable development and the circular economy. The book offers expansive coverage of every aspect of the packaging life cycle, from design to management and end of life. It is a holistic and integrated evaluation of packaging’s environmental footprint. The authors show students and readers how to incorporate design and life cycle concepts into the development of sustainable packaging materials and help them understand critical background information about pollution and risk management. They also provide readers with learning objectives and self-study questions for each chapter that help them retain and understand the ideas discussed in the book. Readers will also find: A thorough introduction to the role of packaging in sustainable development An in-depth examination of design thinking in the packaging design process, including the five stages of design thinking and innovation tools Comprehensive discussions of pollution and risk management, as well as soil, water, and air pollution Expansive treatments of global climate change, life cycle assessment, and municipal solid waste. Perfect for undergraduate and graduate students learning about sustainability and packaging, Life Cycle of Sustainable Packaging: From Design to End of Life will earn a place in the libraries of chemical, biochemical, plastics, materials science, and packaging engineers.

This book highlights the concepts and assessment methods of Ecological Footprints. Ecological footprint is defined as, ”a measure of how much area of biologically productive land and water an individual, population or activity requires to produce all the resources it consumes and to absorb the waste it generates, using prevailing technology and resource management practices”. Developed in 1992 by William Rees, it was the first footprint developed followed by other footprints such as Carbon, Water and Energy. Assessment of Ecological footprints strive for comparing consumption footprint to biological capacity. This book presents five interesting chapters pertaining to the assessment of Ecological Footprints.

Environmental Carbon Footprints: Industrial Case Studies provides a wide range of industrial case-studies, beginning with textiles, energy systems and bio-fuels. Each footprint is associated with background information, scientific consensus and the reason behind its invention, methodological framework, assessment checklist, calculation tool/technique, applications, challenges and limitations. More importantly, applications of each indicator/framework in various industrial sectors and their associated challenges are presented. As case studies are the most flexible of all research designs, this book allows researchers to retain the holistic characteristics of real-life events while investigating empirical events. Includes case studies from various industries, such as textiles, energy systems and conventional and bio-fuels Provides the calculation tool/technique, applications, challenges and limitations for determining carbon footprints on an industry by industry basis Presents the background information, scientific consensus and reason behind each case study

Concern about the harm that industrial activities may cause the environ ment, means that all are now being scrutinised to assess their impact. Packaging is no exception. It is now high on the political agenda, in terms of the environmental issues which are targeted for immediate attention in industrially developed countries and is often perceived as a wasteful drain on non-sustainable resources and an unnecessary indulgence on the part of affluent societies. This book seeks to understand and respond to the variety of pressures packaging now faces, and to review and correct the many misconceptions that exist in relation to its environmental impacts. It has been structured to address the topical and critical areas for attention; it identifies and explains what are seen to be the main issues and discusses the responses being made to them in different parts of the world. More specifically, this book is intended to: • clarify the facts and dispel many of the myths surrounding the environmental aspects of packaging • explain and emphasise packaging's essential role in the workings of human society • review legislative and regulatory developments, the trends and the extent to which they are converging • consider what constitutes environmentally responsible packaging manufacture • discuss and compare the relative environmental merits and differ ences between the various packaging materials and systems • address the requirements for identifying and controlling manufac turing impacts and the role of environmental auditing in this process

Recycling is the need of the hour and it is an inevitable destination at the end of the life of any product. Today, recycling can happen at postindustrial and post-consumer states and the importance of recycled products in the market has gained significant importance. Recycled products dominate the array of sustainable products in today’s context. Even though there are commercial implications for recycling, one of the very important and obvious reasons to go for recycling and to have recycled products is to have the benefits on environmental sustainability. It is highly important to assess the environmental footprints of recycled products and further improve the environmental benefits of such recycled products. This book presents five interesting chapters pertaining to the environmental footprints of various recycled products.