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Packaging
provides the three Ps – protection, preservation and
presentation to the product enclosed. However, it also results in
waste packaging materials.
Packaging waste results in three stages:
1.
Primary stage in the unit pack in which it is used for
enveloping the product
2.
Secondary pack used for unitisation at the retailers stage
3.
Shipping or transport pack in which the above packages are
distributed
The secondary and shipping pack wastages in the distribution
channel are recycled or reused on an organised basis and does not
find its way to household waste. The primary packs which are used
for consumer packs and consumer durables contribute to household
or municipal waste. Due to higher standards of living all over the
world, and current marketing trends of self-service stores,
supermarkets, vending machines, the demand for speciality
products, convenience foods, etc. there has been an increase of
packaging waste, a significant proportion of municipal wastes.
Till recently, unsegregated garbage was transported to specific
places and disposed off either by burning or land filling. This
has resulted in increased pollution in some zones and landfill
areas are getting scarce. In order to prevent the unwelcome signs
of huge garbage dumps in street corners an attempt is being made
in major communities to collect from households and transport
them. Thus, avoiding huge garbage dumps in street corners.
Flexible packaging material, mainly plastics, littered gives an
impression that it is a major component of municipal wastes. In
fact, estimates give an indication of less than one per cent.
Household waste consists of (a) waste food and agricultural
wastes, (b) rigid packages – glass, metal, plastics and, (c)
flexible packages of paper plastics, etc. Ragpickers segregate and
collect whatever they can recover. Unlike developed countries,
newspapers, magazines, old books, glass bottles, milk bags, etc.
are collected at the doorstep itself by scrap dealers and sent
directly for recycling. As such it does to find its way into
household wastes.
We, as a community, should attempt to segregate household garbage
into biological wastage that deteriorates, and others which do not
deteriorate but could be stored segregated. Packaging wastes are
minimised by facilitating a recovery system. Today one talks of
eco-friendly packaging. This is achieved by the four Rs –
reduce, recycle, recover and reuse. Packages are duly marked to
facilitate identification. Plastic packs, both rigid and flexible,
are identified according to international agreement.
Taking the clue from developed countries we must organise
segregation at household level. Germany took the lead in the
beginning of the nineties and introduced the concept of a green
dot, which encourages customers to buy packages with a green dot
signifying it as a recyclable pack. This is similar to our ISI or
BSI mark which guarantees a quality product.
At the household level, different coloured plastic bins should be
made available to assist in segregation with increase in use of
plastic bottles for packing of mineral water, aerated drinks,
edible oil, etc. Communities should plan recovery of this valuable
packaging waste people and educated its people on the benefits of
plastics to the community and assist by the four Rs and not term
plastics as ‘pollutant’ and ‘non-biodegradable’.
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