Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Packaging Systems for Extended Shelf Life Milk

The aim of this study is to carry out a comparative analysis of the environmental impact of different packaging systems used for extended shelf life milk. The analysis, carried out exploiting the life cycle assessment approach, takes into account the packaging manufacturing process, the food packaging process, the transport phases and the end‐of‐life management of the different packaging systems. The packaging end‐of‐life is modelled by considering three possible options, such as recycling, thermo‐valorization with energy recovery and landfill. One litre of extended shelf life milk is used as the reference unit, while multilayer cartons, polyethylene terephthalate bottles labelled with shrink sleeve film and high‐density polyethylene bottles are analysed as the packaging types. The key characteristics of each component of the three packaging systems were either provided by packaging manufacturers or derived from data available in literature. The evaluation of the end‐of‐life impact was performed considering the Italian scenario, exploiting, in particular, the data provided by specific Italian consortia. Other data for the inventory analysis phase were extrapolated from the SimaPro databases (e.g. Ecoinvent or Plastic Europe Database). Cumulative energy demand and CML2001 were adopted as the impact assessment methods. The results obtained show that the multilayer carton system is the less environmentally impactful option for almost all the considered impact categories and that its environmental impacts are, on average, more than 12% lower than high‐density polyethylene system and more than 34% lower than polyethylene terephthalate with shrink sleeve label. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Selection of Packaging Systems in Supply Chains from a Sustainability Perspective: The Case of Volvo

The purpose of this article is to develop an evaluation model for the selection of packaging systems in supply chains from a sustainability perspective. A theoretical evaluation model for comparing cost efficiency and the environmental impact of packaging systems in supply chains are developed from literature. The model is tested in a case study of a supply chain involving Volvo Car Corporation and Volvo Logistics Corporation, comparing the use of newly developed, one‐way packaging with the sustainability of returnable packaging. The model compares the environmental and economic impacts of two packaging systems in a specific supply chain. The criteria used in the model are (i) packaging fill rate, (ii) packaging material, (iii) transport, (iv) material handling, (v) waste handling and (vi) administration. In the case study, the one‐way packaging resulted in fewer economic and environmental impacts, thereby indicating the importance for companies to question their packaging systems. The model has been tested on one component in a case study. It provides a comparison of the packaging choices included using comparative, but not absolute, figures for the economic and environmental impacts. Managers can use the model to compare packaging systems for component supply and determine the most sustainable packaging from environmental and economic perspectives. The case study indicated that the returnable packaging system commonly used in the automotive industry is not always preferable in terms of sustainability. The article fulfils the need to evaluate the impact of packaging systems on supply chain sustainability in terms of economic and environmental criteria. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The importance of energy in environmental life cycle assessments of packaging materials

By comparing existing studies and additional scenario calculations it was shown that energy data plays a central role in environmental life cycle assessments (LCA) of packaging materials. More attention should be paid to correctly linking environmental data from energy studies to packaging LCA, if possible adapting the data base to the local conditions. In general terms, it was shown that it is possible to calculate energy and packaging systems separately, because of the predominantly static links between the two. Scenario calculations show that the potential for reducing the environmental impact of packaging production by the use of cleaner energies is still considerable.     

A Supply Chain Perspective on Green Packaging Development‐Theory Versus Practice

The purpose of this paper is to provide insight into how companies work during packaging development to reduce negative environmental impact along supply chains, and to compare their practical approaches with the theoretical concepts presented in the literature. The research approach is explorative and based on nine cases in the food and manufacturing industries in Sweden. Data were collected from the managerial perspectives of the packaging manager, the logistics manager and the environmental manager. The findings indicate that companies commonly apply a variety of green packaging approaches with a focus on approaches with clear economic benefits. Moreover, companies seem to lack guidance on how to handle trade‐offs and are unable to fully utilize the theoretical environmental benefits of green packaging approaches because of internal and external barriers. The paper presents five propositions regarding to what extent the theoretical green packaging concepts are applied in practice. To address the gap between theory and practice companies should: develop packaging solutions that contribute to a reduction of environmental impact from the consumer phase (for example through improved apportionment, user‐friendly and informative packaging); use local packaging adaptation as a strategy to address geographically varying transport, handling and waste management conditions; replace brand recognition through packaging size and shape with graphic design, high‐quality materials and printing. The results confirm that internal and external collaborations are important requirements for successful green packaging development. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The importance of the compression test procedure for plastic drums for dangerous goods

Packagings for the transport of dangerous goods are tested by four tests:- free fall, leakproofness, hydraulic pressure and stacking. However, the test procedures can be interpreted in different ways, particularly the stacking test. Some test authorities apply a guided load to the top of the package and others, including the LNE in France, use non-guided loads. The objective of recent research carried out at LNE was to evaluate the risk (in terms of stack stability for dangerous goods packagings) if the stacking tests are performed with guided loads rather than non-guided loads. The stacking tests were carried out on a limited number of plastic drums (200 of four types) submitted for qualification testing using the above four tests, with either guided or non-guided loads. From the results we conclude that:

• i for the transport of dangerous goods of Danger Group I, the field of use is not altered when tested by either procedure.
• ii with goods of Danger Groups II and III, the use of either procedure does not alter the position as far as transport is concerned. However, there is a risk in warehousing: the non-guided procedure being preferred.

     

A Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Disposable and Reusable Packaging for the Distribution of Italian Fruit and Vegetables

Each year in Italy, millions of tons of fruits and vegetables are harvested, packed and transported to national and foreign retail outlets. Packaging is an essential component of this system, but what is its environmental impact? This study takes into consideration the delivery from the field to the retail outlet of 12 types of fruits and vegetables grown and harvested in Italy and sold in Italy and Europe. The study compares two different packaging and distribution systems: one‐way with corrugated boxes and reusable with plastic containers. A number of different scenarios were generated by combining the most diffused packaging sizes with the most important production and selling locations for each type of fruit and vegetable and by considering the specific route required to perform the transportation with each distribution system. The environmental impact of each system in each scenario has then been analysed using the life cycle assessment methodology. Two algorithms and a number of coefficients were derived to simplify data collection and impact analysis for all scenarios. This provides an easy tool to evaluate the potential environmental burden of the two alternative distribution systems in a specific scenario by taking into consideration only a few variables (such as size of packaging and transportation distance). These algorithms and coefficients are presented in the work, along with the process that led to their generation and with considerations about the main critical environmental aspects for both distribution systems. The work aims to suggest possible design solutions that can make each system more sustainable. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Choice of Life Cycle Assessment Software Can Impact Packaging System Decisions

A number of software packages are available that are designed to facilitate making environmental comparisons between different packaging options, to facilitate ‘green’ packaging design and assessment of the environmental aspect of sustainability. Some of these (e.g. SimaPro and GaBi) are full‐fledged ISO 14040/14044‐compliant programs for life cycle assessment (LCA). Others are more limited, but are designed to be much simpler to use (e.g. COMPASS and Package Modeling). A systematic comparison of the evaluation of several packaging systems using COMPASS, SimaPro, GaBi, and Package Modeling found significant discrepancies in LCA results from different software systems. Availability of common impact categories among the software limited comparisons to four categories: greenhouse gas emissions, fossil fuel/non‐renewable energy, eutrophication, and water depletion. Given a common set of basic packaging containers as input, results from the LCA software systems being studied disagreed on which container had the greatest environmental impact, and in some cases results were more than an order of magnitude different between software. Discrepancies in results occurred in all four impact categories, and all four software systems disagreed with each other at multiple points in the comparisons. If there is to be increasing use of LCA analysis in guiding packaging design, this issue must be fully understood and resolved. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

茶叶包装的可复用性设计探索

目的 研究茶叶包装的可复用性设计,探寻废弃茶叶包装成功再利用的促成因素及其应用价值。方法 从我国茶文化内涵中解析出绿色环保的理念,融合可持续发展生态观的核心理论要求,开展茶叶包装的可复用性设计研究。以现有茶叶包装形式约束可复用性设计探索的先决条件,从环保性、实用性、易用性和适度性4个方面详细论述设计师应当遵循的设计原则,并结合具体的使用情境进行设计策略的探究。结论 茶叶包装的可复用性设计是保护环境和减少资源浪费的一种创新设计,同时也是一种绿色包装设计,它充分提升了茶叶包装的实用价值,创造出良好的使用体验并引导消费者建立正确的生态消费观,使深刻质朴的茶文化在可持续发展观的引领下得以更加深远的传播,对生态资源的保护存在着不容小觑的现实意义。     

Potential environmental gains from reducing food losses through development of new packaging – a life‐cycle model

Food losses are seldom included in life cycle analyses of the food packaging system, nor are they included in the debate on sustainable packaging. The development of packaging that decreases food losses does, however, provide an opportunity to reduce the overall environmental impact. In this paper, we present a model that calculates the environmental impact of the food packaging system as a function of food losses. The model can be used to analyse the potential environmental gains from developing packaging that reduce food losses. The model includes food production and processing, transports, packaging, retailer and consumer issues and waste handling. The results show that it can be environmentally motivated to increase the environmental impact of packaging, if necessary, when new packaging design helps to reduce food losses. However, the waste handling systems of food and packaging are important to consider if packaging are developed in order to reduce the environmental impact of the food‐packaging system. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Effect of Active Packaging on Minimizing Food Losses: Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Essential Oil Component‐enabled Packaging for Fresh Beef

Packaging plays an important role in ensuring food safety and quality, and the development of active packaging, especially antimicrobial packaging, enables actively inhibiting/killing the microorganisms causing food spoilage and thus extending the product's shelf life. A survey of the publications revealed that generally 50% shelf life extension is possible. The goal of this study is to assess the overall environmental performance of the food and packaging system considering the effect of food loss reduction by using active packaging. A comparative life cycle assessment has been carried out, focusing on a case study: essential oil component‐enabled packaging for fresh beef. Different scenarios were set up to contrast the situations of food using conventional packaging (current situation) and food using novel active packaging (containing active coating). Additionally, a sensitivity analysis has been integrated, aiming to identify the breakeven point of the balance. In the scenarios using the best‐performance active packaging, it was shown that a breakeven point can be achieved across the four impact categories evaluated, including global warming, fossil energy demand, acidification potential and eutrophication potential. It is expected that the obtained results would serve as guidelines for active packaging development striving for a positive eco‐profile of the food and packaging system. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

一种新型运输包装箱的开发与设计

目的 开发设计一种适用于供应链包装系统背景下的新型运输包装箱。方法 首先进行线上和线下的调研,了解供应链包装系统下现有运输包装箱的基本信息以及问题点。其次,根据调研情况研发新型运输包装箱来替代现有产品,同时根据模拟测试进行经济效益预测。结果 该运输包装箱在绿色环保、作业效率、成本等方面,均比现有运输包装箱优越。结论 该运输包装箱是一种适用于快销行业的共享型绿色运输包装箱,价格低廉,使用方便,节能环保,功能丰富,其综合技术指标优良,且其操作性强,性价比高,具有很高的市场前景,是迎接智能物流时代的必然产物。     

回收率奖惩机制对推动电商平台循环快递包装应用的影响

目的 针对循环快递包装市场占有率低的问题,建立有效的回收率奖惩机制,促使电商平台使用循环快递包装。方法 考虑一次性快递包装和循环快递包装的替代性,在快递包装制造商回收模式下,建立无政府奖惩和有政府奖惩情形下电商平台的快递包装成本模型和快递包装制造商销售与回收循环快递包装的利润模型,分析政府奖惩机制对电商平台使用循环快递包装的比例、循环快递包装价格、循环快递包装回收率的影响。结果 回收率奖惩机制可以提高循环快递包装的回收率和电商平台使用循环快递包装的比例,降低循环快递包装的价格。结论 回收率奖惩机制有利于促进电商平台增加循环快递包装的使用比例,推动循环快递包装的规模化应用。     

Automatic identification in packaging — radio frequency identification in multiway systems

With regard to the increasing environmental awareness all over the world, many companies replace their one‐way packaging systems by reusable systems in order to save energy and resources and to reduce waste. But complex multiway networks entail several problems concerning the availability of returned empties and the control of the flow of materials. In order to guarantee a failure‐free operation of the logistic network at low cost, a complete tracking and tracing of the package based on efficient identification technologies is crucial. Concerning multiway systems, the requirements of a continuous information flow often exceed the capacity of barcode technologies. Radio frequency identification (RFID) technologies can fill this gap by offering the wide range of features necessary for disposition and control. This paper sets out the requirements and benefits connected with the use of RFID technologies using multiway systems that represent new results from current research projects. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Packaging's Role in Minimizing Food Loss and Waste Across the Supply Chain

This paper presents the results of Australian research that explored the role of packaging in minimizing food waste in the supply chain. The economic, social and environmental costs of food waste have been well documented elsewhere. This research contributes to the debate by identifying opportunities to reduce or recover food loss and waste through improved packaging. In the fresh produce sector, e.g. waste can be reduced through the use of packaging that improves product protection, ventilation and temperature control. Other opportunities include improved design of distribution packaging to reduce damage in transport and handling; design of primary packaging to reduce waste in the home, e.g. through appropriate portion sizes and by reducing confusion over date labels; and the use of retail‐ready packaging that minimizes handling and improves stock rotation in stores. An important conclusion of the study is that packaging can have a significant impact on reducing food waste in the food supply chain; and in some cases, a focus on reducing food waste will require more rather than less packaging. Packaging developers must therefore consider the product and its packaging as a complete system to optimize sustainability. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Life cycle inventory of HDPE bottle‐based liquid milk packaging systems

This study aims at providing a relatively straightforward methodology to serve as a decision‐making tool when more than one packaging solution could be available to a user. It involves a life cycle inventory (LCI) analysis and comparison of three currently available 3.79 l (1 gallon) packaging systems for liquid milk. Two of the primary container types studied use reusable plastic crates (RPCs) for stacking and shipping, while the third type is a heavier duty container that does not require secondary shipping containers. The three primary containers studied are identified as original, cube and stackable throughout this paper. The study shows that the use of RPCs for controlled environment distribution reduces the material requirements of the primary containers and therefore reduces the overall CO₂ emissions. It was also found that though the transportation‐related emissions varied between the packaging systems for the two end‐of‐life scenarios considered, it had the lowest overall effect on the CO₂ emissions and use of energy. The study concludes that transportation weight limits must be considered as a limiting factor in package design for liquid products, as trailers ‘weigh out’ before they ‘cube out.’ As related to the LCI impacts, this study found that the original and cube container‐based packaging systems have better overall per functional unit performance in comparison with the stackable design. It was also noted that scorecards based on the Wal‐Mart format do not accurately define the environmental impacts posed by packaging systems. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A simplified life cycle assessment of re‐usable and single‐use bulk transit packaging

A streamlined (simplified) life cycle assessment of a conventional wooden pallet and an all‐weather, washable, re‐usable and fully recyclable plastic bulk transit packaging system used to transport empty yoghurt pottles, has been conducted using surrogate/proxy data from the Environmental Priorities Strategy (EPS) 2000 Default Method. This paper accounts for the life cycle inventory for each material used in the two transit packaging systems and their associated fabrication processes. The life cycle assessment was simplified by ignoring common factors such as the common nylon strap of both packaging systems, the common in‐house transportation, and the manufacture and maintenance of capital equipment. The system boundaries and assumptions made are also discussed. The functional unit adopted was the Environmental Load Units (ELU) of the EPS 2000 Default Method. The grand overall ELU for the wooden pallet and plastic packaging system are computed by considering the weight of the material, the volume of inventory and the distance travelled. The ELU of the wooden pallet was 18.455, while that for the plastic packaging was 4.574 at a 96.5% level of certainty. In the case of the wooden pallet, truck transport, the corrugated cardboard boxes and the LDPE liner and shrinkwrap impacted the environment most, while for the plastic packaging system truck transport and the LDPE liner were significant. The plastic packaging has a lower environmental impact than the wooden pallet for various reasons. It is lighter in weight, has more re‐usable parts and can transport more yoghurt pottles per trip. It has a long service life and is virtually fully recyclable. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

循环包装箱全生命周期碳足迹计算方法研究

目的 针对目前循环箱碳足迹的计算缺乏统一标准且相关研究较少，使循环箱的环保价值存疑的问题，本文对循环包装箱的碳足迹进行研究，旨在建立一种适用于循环包装的基于生命周期评价(LCA)方法的碳排放计算模型。方法 基于全生命周期评价方法，参考国内A循环包装企业B2B应用场景，采用eFootprint软件及数据库量化分析。由于聚丙烯材料具有可循环利用的特点，在快递循环包装中广泛应用，本文以聚丙烯材料的循环箱为例进行碳足迹的研究。以1 m²的循环快递包装箱为功能单位，采用“从摇篮到坟墓”的方法对其生产、运营、回收等过程的物耗、能耗及环境排放进行环境影响量化比较。结果 研究评价分析了各个单元过程中对全球变暖潜值这一环境指标的贡献值。结果显示，循环包装箱碳排放贡献主要来源于4个方面:循环使用过程运输排放，约占总排放的57.95%;其次为原材料聚丙烯，约占总排放的24.25%;电力排放包括生产、清洗2个阶段的电力，占总排放的11.71%;报废后垃圾焚烧处理过程排放，占总排放的5.33%。使用近50次的二氧化碳当量为9.854 1 kg/m²。结论 循环包装单次使用排放低于相同面积单位5层瓦楞纸箱的碳排放，说明在理想条件下循环包装具有较高的环保价值。     

Consumer Perceptions of Food Packaging: Contributing to or Counteracting Environmentally Sustainable Development?

Packaging has a fundamental role in ensuring safe delivery of goods throughout supply chains to the end consumer in good condition. It also has great potential to contribute to sustainable development. This paper explores and provides insights on Swedish consumer perceptions and knowledge of environmental aspects of food packaging and elaborates on how these can contribute to or counteract environmentally sustainable development. A study based on a consumer survey carried out in Sweden is presented. A review of recent packaging research emphasizes the protective function of packaging as its most important contribution to the environmental dimension of sustainable development. Contrary to this, consumers almost exclusively refer to the packaging material when it comes to their perceptions of the environmental impact of packaging. Paper‐based packaging is strongly understood by the surveyed consumers to be environmentally advantageous, whereas plastic and metal are not. This study further indicates that a majority of the Swedish consumers surveyed are aware of their shortcomings in judging the environmental status of food packaging, indicating a need for guidance; otherwise, consumer choices can unintendedly counteract environmentally sustainable intentions. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

罐装薯片包装的生命周期评价

对罐装薯片包装进行了生命周期评价,包括从原材料的获取、生产加工,工厂、消费者的运输,到包装容器的使用、二次回收使用,废弃物处理等包装的生命周期环节,对其能量消耗、环境影响等进行了评价。分析结果表明:纸铝塑复合包装的环境负荷主要体现在原材料的获取阶段,集中在燃料能源的消耗,其中纸材料加工的环境负荷要大于塑料与铝;填埋、焚烧、再利用这3种处置方式对环境的影响主要集中在化石燃料的消耗、土地占用和无机物对人体的损害上。因此,在维持现有结构的情况下,实行材料减量化和容器轻量化是提高包装环保适性最直接、有效的途径。