Environmental considerations for packaging materials

A major concern of the environmental movement world-wide, has been the increasing use of disposable packaging (frequently plastics) which is considered to waste non-renewable resources and impose unacceptable burdens on municipal disposal facilities. In concurrence with susceptible politicians, laws and regulations have been promulgated in many jurisdictions which have increased both the cost to the taxpayer of garbage disposal and the loss of energy resources. 

It is not possible to make a general rule about the savings of energy with different packaging systems since it depends to a large extent on the number of 

Container Weight (ounces) Energy used in manufacture (kWh) Energy ratio Heat content (kcal)  

It is often assumed that the use of reusable containers such as glass bottles saves energy and resources. This is clearly not the case, as is demonstrated by the data on milk containers in Table 12.3. 

When the comparison is made between a glass milk bottle distribution system and plastic pouches, there is a clear energy advantage to the use of plastic disposable pouches and probably advantages in sanitation as well. The energy cost of the bottle is one hundred times that of the plastic pouch. A 

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