This requirement has encouraged industry to reduce packaging. In addition, as noted earlier, providing recycling for plastic containers may actually encourage their use and increased production. But as plastic packages become less standardized and more complex, recycling becomes more difficult.
Already, many plastic packages that consumers have expected to be recycled must be landfilled. Therefore the diversion may not be as effective as proponents intend. See misconceptions 1 and 2 in section 10 below. Get Involved. As we celebrate Earth Day this month, we also want … Read more ». If you are like many of us, at home during … Read more ». About Visit Contact Blog Calendar. Skip to primary content. Skip to secondary content. Pollution and hazards from manufacturing The most obvious form of pollution associated with plastic packaging is wasted plastic sent to landfills.
Significant releases of toxic chemicals included : trichloroethane acetone methylene chloride methyl ethyl ketone styrene toluene benzene 1,1,1 trichloroethane Other major emissions from plastic production processes include sulfur oxides, nitrous oxides, methanol, ethylene oxide, and volatile organic compounds. Negative health effects — toxic additives, migration into food In addition to creating safety problems during production, many chemical additives that give plastic products desirable performance properties also have negative environmental and human health effects.
Diverting solid waste Curbside plastic collection programs are driven in part by a wish to minimize municipal solid waste. Inspiring and building a sustainable , healthy , and just future for the East Bay, California, and beyond. The paper and paperboard industry use wood that is milled into pulp using either mechanical or chemical processes. It also uses plant fibers like cotton, linen and hemp, as well as grasses like straw, wheat and kenaf an African fiber plant.
Now much of the water is recycled and modern processes in some mills produce no liquid effluents. In the US, the major source of feedstocks for plastics production is natural gas, derived either from natural gas processing or from crude oil refining. Plastics manufacturing is responsible for a significant amount of greenhouse gas emissions in the US — as much as one percent.
After it is used, most packaging is discarded and is either buried in a landfill or becomes litter that is carried along by wind and water currents into the environment. Packaging sent to landfills, especially when made from plastics, does not degrade quickly or, in some cases, at all, and chemicals from the packaging materials, including inks and dyes from labeling, can leach into groundwater and soil.
Litter — especially of the plastic variety — often makes its way to the furthest reaches of the planet, where it threatens human, avian and marine life.
The severe impacts of plastic on the environment are not limited to ocean pollution, however. One study estimated that one third of all discarded plastic ends up in soil or in freshwater. The contaminated pieces eventually make their way through the food chain and into humans through ingestion of seafood.
Some food packaging materials degrade relatively quickly; others will take hundreds to even a million years to degrade. The National Park Service has estimated degradation times of selected food packaging materials, as follows: Beyond its unsightliness, as it spreads out to the far reaches of our planet, litter from food packaging poses a threat to marine life and birds; plastic is the worst offender, by far.
Of all the coffee cups and lids, coffee pods, straws, Styrofoam containers, plastic bottles and their caps, plastic wraps, six-pack holders and plastic grocery bags, most is designed for single use. All the plastic floating around the oceans is incredibly harmful to animals.
It is estimated that there are billions of pounds of plastic made up of trillions of pieces swirling around the oceans, carried along by the currents. Only about five percent of that plastic mass is visible on the surface; the rest is floating below or has settled out onto the ocean floor.
While both options have benefits for waste management, they both produce air emissions, including greenhouse gases. The way to reduce the impact from consumer packaging is to make better choices when we buy and consume food. As consumers, our food choices impact how much packaging we use and, therefore, how much trash and recycling we create. While recycling helps minimize the amount of packaging that makes its way to a landfill, some basic choices can eliminate the need for the packaging in the first place.
Food Packaging Materials and Uses Almost all food that we buy, especially processed food, comes packaged. For example: Grocery store food is typically sold in glass, metal, plastic or paperboard containers, and often comes encased in multiple layers.
Those containers are then placed into plastic or paper grocery bags. Takeout food is often wrapped in plastic or aluminum foil, then placed into paper, plastic or Styrofoam containers, and often is put into paper bags and finally into plastic grocery bags.
These bags may contain plastic cutlery, napkins and straws, as well. Processed food often has multiple layers of packaging; for example, a food item might be placed in a tray, covered in paper or plastic wrap, placed into a paperboard box and then, often, covered again in plastic wrap.
Many food items that were traditionally found in glass, metal or plastic bottles or cans are now found in multilayer plastic-coated pouches or cartons. To create just one plastic water bottle takes three bottles of water as well as a quarter of a bottle of oil.
It is not just water bottles that use a high amount of water, many packaging production methods use a high volume of water, wasting precious water resources. Plastic pellets used in packaging can also affect the water. The pellets release toxic chemicals which can leach into the water. Research has found that the concentration of toxic chemicals in the pellets becomes a million times higher when in water. Landfills are a result of a high amount of wasteful packaging and can be incredibly dangerous to the environment.
Landfills not only release large amounts of methane and other toxic chemicals which can contribute to global warming, but they can also result in a loss of species.
Research has shown that between 30 and species are lost per hectare of landfill site which can significantly impact the biodiversity of our planet. Landfills also have a damaging effect with waste materials leaching toxic chemicals which leads to groundwater pollution. Furthermore, it can reduce the soil quality and fertility which can mean that plants cannot grow or thrive in the area, effectively wasting the environment and playing a key role in the food chain.
T: E: info ribble-pack. Search for:. While many consumers are more environmentally conscious, there is still a lack of recycling. Excessive packaging is seen daily across the world. Here are just seven of the ways that wasteful packaging is damaging our environment. Seven ways wasteful packaging affects our environment Litter In terms of the total waste, litter is only on a small scale, with a small percentage of packaging waste accumulating as litter.
Air pollution Air pollution can be caused by two major concerns dust and dry particles which hang in the air and fumes such as smoke, gases and vapours. Birdlife Worryingly, plastic kills over one million marine birds every single year. Landfill space In , the UK generated 9.
Sealife The ingestion of plastic can be fatal for sea life. Water pollution The production of packaging can have a high water use as well as causing water pollution. Loss of species Landfills are a result of a high amount of wasteful packaging and can be incredibly dangerous to the environment.
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