Using plastic packaging

Plastics enable development of lightweight and less bulky protective packaging and typically account for just 1 - 3% of a product's weight. Plastic packaging substantially increases the volume of goods transported and stored, and significantly reduces consumption of packaging material and ultimately raw materials, compared to more traditional packaging materials.

Shrink-wrap provides a 70% packaging reduction by weight to cardboard alternatives. 50% of all consumer goods, by weight, are protected by plastics, yet the contribution to packaging waste is only 10 - 15%. In 1994, plastic packaging represented just seven percent of the volume of goods transported, rather than 43% typical of more traditional materials. This offers a 39% saving in fuel. Replacing plastics would increase packaging weight by 391%, energy consumption by 208% and the volume of waste by 258%. A 39% fuel saving is made when mineral water is delivered in plastic bottles. Life cycle analysis in Canada revealed that a paper cup used 15 times more chemicals, 6 times more steam and 13 times more electricity than its plastic counterpart. The average plastic packs now weigh up to eighty percent less than they did twenty years ago.