AcocellaOverPackaging

Have you ever noticed how packages you receive in the mail are over packaged? Is it recyclable? Is that all necessary and what is the environmental impact of it all?

Image information: Top left UPS warehouse: http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/news_cut/archive/2007/12/the_pocket_economy.shtml Center unnecessary packaging image: [] Top right unnecessary packaging image: [] Bottom packaging waster image: []

Many times the items we receive in the mail come in a box. But this box is then placed in another box with packing material such as paper, foam or packing peanuts. Then it is all sealed together with plenty of packing tape. What is the carbon footprint of all this packaging? The average person cannot easily access these figures. Manufacturers don’t always measure these numbers. In addition, there is a lack of transparency in the marketplace. According to the California Integrated Waste Management Board, “of the 66 million tons of solid waste generated by Californians each year, approximately one third is packaging ([1] Packaging 2009). And according to the US EPA, “containers and packaging account for 31.6 percent by weight and 29.6 percent by volume of the municipal solid waste (MSW) in the United States. ([2] Municipal 2006)
 * Boxes inside of boxes…inside of boxes**

Over 6.4 billion cardboard boxes were used to ship items via ground or air in 2007 alone ([3] Innovation 2010). When these billions of items are wastefully packaged, the bigger boxes then take up more space on delivery trucks, causing the need for more trips for the same number of items. This adds to the waste of time, materials and energy, not to mention extra emissions from trucks and more congestion on roads.
 * The Problem?**

A research team in Australia has found that New Zealand fur seals from Kangaroo Island, South Australia frequently become entangled in loops of packaging tape that has been improperly disposed of. In fact, despite attempt to combat the problem by government and industry, the rates of entanglement increased from 2002 (0.9%), which is the fourth highest reported for any sea species. They estimated that1478 seals die from entanglement each year in Australia. ([4] Page 2004)

Plastic and foam packing material used to be petroleum based. Then starch based foams became commercially available, replacing most of the plastics but these foams cannot stand up to moisture. One research group found that by including certain additives such as polycarbonate and magnesium silicate helped the starch based packing peanuts stand up in moist conditions. ([5] Bhatnagar 1996). This group was funded by the Nebraska Corn Development and Marketing Board. This is another node to the matrix. Who funds the research many times has a significant impact on the results. The conclusions drawn from this study were beneficial to the corn industry because corn is one of the sources of starch-based packing materials commonly used.
 * The bright side:**

The Biotechnology and Bioengineering Group, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition at the University of Illinois worked on obtaining bio-energy from the fermentation of starch based packing peanuts and found it was a viable source of butanol as compared to other starches. ([6] Jesse 2002) Butanol can be used as a fuel for cars. This is a promising find in terms of alternative energies but it is yet another node of the matrix. Although alternative energies are renewable and do not have harmful emissions like fossil fuels, the solution to energy consumption is reducing energy needs not finding energy in different places.

When packaging materials are not disposed of properly, the environment is impacted. As demonstrated by the Australian study, marine life is a stakeholder. Companies that are shipping products are also large stakeholders. If they could cut down on the amount of wasteful packaging, they would actually decrease certain costs for themselves. As shown in the article about packing peanuts made of starch, certain industries that are responsible for these products have a stake hold, including the corn, tapioca, wheat, rice and potato industries. Also the shipping companies that are forced to ship larger parcels due to over packaging are yet another set of stakeholders.
 * Stakeholders**

Works Cited and Referenced

[1] “Packaging Waste Reduction.” __CalRecycle__. Last Updated Nov 23, 2009. Ca.gov []

[2]”Municipal Solid Waste Generation, Recycling, and Disposal in the United States: Facts and Figures for 2005.” United States Environmental Protection Agency. October 2006. []

[3] Innovation 2 Industry: Creative Sustainability. Updated 2010 []

[4] Page, Brad, et al. “Entanglement of Australian sea lions and New Zealand fur seals in lost fishing gear and other marine debris before and after Government and industry attempts to reduce the problem.” July 2004. []

[5] Bhatnagar, S. and Milford Hanna. “Starch-Based Foams From Various Starch Sources.” January 1996. []

[6] Jesse, TW. TC Ezaji, N Qureshi and HP Blaschek. “Production of butanol from starch-based waste packing peanuts and agricultural waste.” 2002. []

[7] Heinbuch, Jayme. “The Mysterious Carbon Footprint of Packaging.” Planetgreen.com. July 8, 2009. []

[8] Sustainable Packaging Coalition Hompage. []