1.

A. Fruits and Veggies

FRUITS and vegetables are an important sub-sector in the

agricultural sector because they are valued as protective
food. They are very rich source of minerals, vitamins
providing more energy per unit weight than cereals.

However, there is a wide gap between availability and the per capita nutritional requirement of
fruits. Low availability of quality fruits and vegetables is mainly due to considerably high postharvest losses, poor transportation, improper storage and low processing capacity with a growing
population.The post-harvest losses could be considerably reduced by adopting improved
packaging, handling and efficient system of transport.
Packaging of fruits and vegetables is undertaken primarily to assemble the produce in convenient
units for marketing and distribution.
Requirements: The package must stand up to long distance transportation, multiple handling, and
the climate changes of different storage places, transport methods and market conditions.
In designing fruit packages one should consider both the physiological characteristics of the fruit
as well as the whole distribution network. The package must be capable of protecting the product
from the transport hazards; preventing the microbial and insect damage; minimising the
physiological and biochemical changes and losses in weight.
Careful packing of fruits and vegetables is necessary to keep the produce in place with minimum
shaking. Fruits and vegetables are normally packed in layers in crates and in each layer products
are packed alternately placing the beak of one in between the shoulders of two. This method of
packing is easy to follow and quick. It also provides enough room without compressing it.

Other types of packages generally used are wooden boxes and

gunnysacks. Use of corrugated fibre board boxes is limited. Baskets
besides being unhygienic also do not allow adequate aeration and
convenience of easy handling and stocking.

Advantages Of Corrugated Cardboard Boxes:

Cardboard Corrugated Boxes are light weight and thus are very convenient to handle
while packaging, loading and unloading.

The raw material required to fabricate Corrugated Cardboard Boxes is quite

inexpensive, which makes these boxes highly affordable as compared to the other
available alternatives in the market.

Corrugated Cardboard Boxes have better printing and graphics capabilities. As such,
they can be used as effective marketing tools for brand awareness and promotion.
Enterprises have lunged on to the opportunity with both hands and they get the logos,
company name and other promotional detail printed on these packaging boxes. This is
really a smart means of marketing.

Corrugated Cardboard Boxes are available in various shapes, sizes, designs and
colors as per the specific requirement of the customers. This is a real advantage because
needs can be very diverse and so should be the Packaging Solution.

They are very easily available in almost any given region being a widespread
worldwide business.

Most importantly, Corrugated Cardboard Boxes are completely recyclable in nature

that makes them eco-friendly.

Disadvantages of wooden crates :

forest Untreated wood can easily become contaminated with
fungi and bacteria
Treatment of wooden crates with paint or other chemicals may
cause produce deterioration
The material may be too hard or rough for produce like soft
fruits, and therefore liners of a soft material may be needed
Disposal of crates after use
Manufacturing of wooden crates puts an extra claim on the
natural forest resources
Why packaging must be done?
http://www.dawn.com/news/207762/improving-fruit-and-vegetablepackaging

B. Milk
why was milk packaged in glass?

Transparent
Strength
Rigidity
Water and gas barrier
Thermal shock resistance
Inertness to chemical substances
Cheap cost
100% recyclable

Reasons to shift from glass to HDPE

containers:
Heavy weight
It occupies more space during transportation and storage

Fragility

Due to fragile nature it needs more protection from external

hazards

Cost

Though material cost is less, it increases the cost of

transport and storage which leads to more fuel consumption

Material consumption
For packaging of 500ml of milk 500g of glass material was
required

Effect of light

Light damages the nutritive components of milk

Chemicals

Effect of chemicals for washing the bottle leads to

environmental hazard

Reasons for selecting HDPE bottles:

need only 40g of HDPE to pack 500ml milk

good ESCR
good impact strength
good moisture barrier

Reasons to shift from HDPE bottles to

cartons/pouch/tetra packets:
bottles is a single use container
recycling of bottles become cost factor
if we try to recycle then it has to be washed and sterilized
and rebroken down into size which can be fed into extruder

Reasons for selecting carton /tetra packets:

light weight
made from renewable raw material
increase distribution efficiency
hygienic
one-way containers
aseptic type doesnt require refrigeration
easy to dispose off
recyclable

Reasons for selecting Flexible Pouch/POLY:

cheapest in the world

easy to handle
occupies less space
convenient
recyclable
uses lowest amount of packaging material
packets dont need to be collected,washed,refilled and
redistributed

C. Plastic Furniture
Plastic furniture gaining more preference over the wooden furniture due to
following reasons
A, plastic furniture are economically cheaper then the wooden furniture as to make
wooden furniture one has to pay huge amount by which he/she can easily afford
the plastic furniture.
B, plastic furniture helps for the prevention of bugs infection as Bed bugs thrive
under certain conditions which are enhanced by the availability of hiding spots
close to their human hosts. Bed bugs have a strong preference for paper and wood,
over metal and plastic. Porous surfaces provide more humidity and egg-laying
locations. Furniture choices can greatly contribute to the control of bed bugs.
C, plastic furniture are weighted lighter then the wooden furniture and they can be
move accordingly by not applying much efforts as required to move wooden
furniture.
E, plastic furniture are more comfortable then the wooden furniture as most of the
plastic furniture come in the form of folding and which can easily be adjusted
accordingly
F, plastic furniture is last longer than the wooden furniture as they are more
preferred by the society

 Generally the plastic furniture is unbreakable. It does not

break when it is dropped or handled roughly.
Plastic furniture has low or no maintenance cost. It is
generally unbreakable and does not require regular
maintenance like wooden furniture. On the other hand,
traditional furniture made of wood may develop cracks due
to extreme climatic conditions and may also require some
maintenance like polishing, etc.
Plastic furniture is available in vibrant colours and can
change the appearance and the mood of the room. Plastic
can be easily moulded to any desired shape and carvings
can be easily made to get variety of designs. Number of
new and stylish designs is available in plastic today.
Usage of plastic reduces cutting of trees and thereby
deforestation. This goes a long way in protecting our forests.
Wooden furniture on the other hand involves wood to be cut
for making furniture which leads to ecological problems.
Plastic furniture is water proof. Even when left unattended
in rain, it does not get rusted or cracked.
It is harmless as generally these furniture do not have any
sharp corners and very light in weight. So, it is very safe
where children are around.

Why not wooden furniture?

Disadvantages of Teak wood:
1. Very Expensive
This is the only major drawback of teak wood is that its very costly. The
reason for this is the declining natural resources over the years. The
demand is as high as ever, but supply has reduced. Other than the natural

old-growth teak wood in forests, teak plantations (farms) have also

flourished over the past years to try and meet this high demand.
The price of teak wood logs is indicated as a per cubic feet price, and its
much higher compared to buying plywood. Add to this the payments
required to be made to artisans for making a customized piece, or the
commissions that dealers earn in the case of buying ready made teak wood
furniture. It all adds up to the costs.
2. Hard to find high-quality wood
High quality and genuine teak wood is hard to identify for customers since it
requires some knowledge and experience about woods. Perhaps the
easiest way to fix this issue is to get suggestions and help from a trusted
and reliable source.
3. Woodworking Tools get blunted.
Teak is a hard material. From a carpenters point of view it presents a minor
problem since the woodworking tools become blunt and need to be
sharpened while working on the wood.
4. Needs care (needs to be polished once in every couple of years)
Compared to decorative laminates over plywood, solid teak wood furniture
requires more care and maintainence. It needs to be polished every couple
of years to maintain its beauty. My carpenter recommend sanding it with a
180 sand paper, followed by polish. There are different kinds of polish
available called lacquer, but the easiest way is perhaps to use Touch Wood
polish from Asian Paints thats specifically made for giving shine to wooden
surfaces.

Wood energy produces green house gases.

Transportation of wood to urban areas can be expensive.
Wood is hygroscopic and it will absorb surrounding vapors
loses moisture below the fiber saturation point.
Biotic factors can cause decay of wood by mold fungi, bacteria
and insects.

 Abiotic factors like sun, wind, water, fire and certain chemicals
can cause deterioration and destruction of wood.

D.Cardboard origin and growth

The history of cardboard cores and cardboard tubes as a form of
packaging is closely linked to the development of paper manufacturing
since cardboard, or paperboard, can be regarded simply as a form of thick
paper. According to tradition, the first paper was first made in 105 AD by
Ts'ai Lun a servant of the Chinese emperor Ho Ti. The earliest record
describes how he "made paper by pulping fishing nets and rags. Later, he
used the the fibres of plants which were boiled and made into a mash.
They were then stirred into a pulp and spread on a frame. When it had
formed a thin tissue, it was pressed with heavy weights to make paper.

By the early 1600s the Chinese had begun to use thick paper as a
packaging material and so cardboard was born. Paper and cardboard
manufacture slowly spread west to the middle east and reached Italy
around 1255 while the first English paper mill was working by 1495,
with the first paper factory in Kent up and running by the reign of
Elizabeth l.

At that time paper and cardboard was made from rags. Increasing
demand for paper and paperboard during the late eighteenth and early
nineteenth centuries led to shortages of rags. Other materials were tried
including sawdust and even cabbage stumps! However it wasnt until the
middle of the nineteenth century that pulp produced using straw or wood
became the norm in the production of paper. This was largely due to the
invention in Germany in 1843 of a wood-grinding machine which produced
ground wood pulp suitable for papermaking.

 Mystery surrounds the origin of the first cardboard box. Although

its often reported that this form of cardboard packaging was invented
in 1817 by the British industrialist Malcolm Thornhill, this has been
questioned by historians who claim that Thornhill never actually
existed and that the fact is actually a deliberate internet hoax!

The French claim to have invented the cardboard box. They even have a
cardboard box museum at Valreas in south eastern France to prove it!
However these were very small, hand-made cartons used to carry
silkworms and although they date back to the 1840s, its not likely they
were well known or copied outside of the local area. More reliable
accounts say that the first cardboard boxes were produced for packaging in
1890 using folded paper board. The inventor responsible was the Scottishborn American Robert Gair who invented the pre-cut cardboard or
paperboard box. His breakthrough was to use flat pieces manufactured in
bulk that folded into a box.

The popularity of cardboard grew rapidly and cardboard cores

quickly followed giving people the ability to wind a wide range of
products and fabrics around a cardboard core. Cardboard tubes and
cardboard cores can be used as the basis of a storage system for
everything from carpets, to paper. Cardboard tubes can also be used
to protect documents sent via the post and so the postal tube came to
be born.

By 1903 E Revell & Sons were established at Bermondsey in South

London making cardboard tubes and cardboard cores and three years later
came the breakthrough that catapulted cardboard packaging into the public
consciousness. It was in 1906 that the American Kellogg brothers were first
to use mass produced cardboard boxes for their new-fangled Cornflakes.
They covered the cardboard box with a waxed, heat sealed bag of Waxtite.
This outer wrapper was printed with the brand name and advertising copy.

 Today, of course, the plastic liner protects cereals and other

products inside the cardboard box. Cardboard packaging never
looked back and our UK cardboard packaging industry is estimated to
be worth 4bn a year that employs 27,000 people. Cardboard
packaging is renewable, clean and extremely versatile. Its uses are
limited only by our imagination.

Cardboard packaging is one of the most common types of product

packaging used, and its uses are only limited by the imagination.
Everything from the simplest of products to the most expensive often
comes protected in cardboard. In addition to the benefits it offers
consumers, this type of packaging can also have a positive impact on the
environment.
The benefits to those using cardboard packaging are hard to overstate. The
material is light and able to be made quickly and cheaply. Often, it's made
locally or regionally, providing good-paying jobs and helping the local
economy. In fact, entire companies exist with the sole purpose of providing
cardboard boxes, bins and other types of products to manufacturers.
Cardboard packaging has also seen resurgence in popularity in recent
years. Some consumers, frustrated by the difficulty of dealing with plastic
bubble wrap have been demanding a change. Companies are starting to
listen, and some use cardboard whenever they can do so.
Some consumer goods come packaged in cardboard in nearly all cases.
Most televisions come wrapped in cardboard containers as a first line of
defense, for example. Although the TVs may also have other types of
protection within the packaging, the cardboard box plays a vital role in that
system of protection.

Growth

A century of continuous innovations and adaptation to the

changing world
The evolution of corrugated packaging production techniques has shown
rapid growth. It has accompanied the industrial revolution and has
responded to the steady demand for more transport packaging. Corrugated
production volumes closely follow economic activity.
Today, the material adapts very quickly to the constant evolution of the
retail trade and its continually changing logistics requirements.
Since the end of the 19th century, many changes have occurred and
remarkable progress has been made in the improvements in raw materials
(paper) , in the machinery and equipment, in the production processes and
in the printing techniques.
Some examples are listed below:

The number of paper grades used for the production of corrugated is

continuously increasing. The choice and the quality of all different liners
and fluting are constantly improving. Corrugated packaging meets the
demand of flexibility and efficiency required by customers and retailers.

The production speed has increased dramatically thanks to the

improvement of equipment. This is also true on the user side, thanks to
high speed case erectors, fillers and closers.

The use of the computer has revolutionized the industry by permitting

continuous running with fewer and shorter machine stops. Its impact has
also been considerable on pack design and order processing. Progress
is still being made, and the era of Information Technology has barely
begun.

In the last decade, probably some new printing techniques are

responsible for the most dramatic evolutions. The changing role of
packaging from logistics to marketing functions and the use of bar codes
for product identification have all required improvements in the quality of
graphics printed on corrugated packaging.

Small flutes and high quality paper enable to achieve high standard of
graphics which offers new prospects in end-use markets.

The future developments in nanotechnologies and RFID might

become the new challenges of the 21st century

Corrugators up to 3,30 m width, speeds up to 350 m/min, progress in

the process control systems, increasing of the print quality, decreasing

of the average paper and corrugated board basis weight, microflutes,

cooler corrugating, zero defect technology, improvements of the overall
efficiency of corrugators

E. Plastic bags
Why plastic over cloth and paper bags?
1. Most plastic bags are biodegradable
As you can read on plastic bags once you shop and pay the 50 cent levy,
plastic bags are labeled with biodegradable. This means that plastic bags
dissolve sooner than later when thrown in the waste dump. So when youre
using plastic bag as garbage container dumped into an even bigger garbage
container, its a little reassuring news to hear.
2. Plastic bags require less energy to make
Paper bags may be much easier to decompose than plastic counterparts, but
the environmental impact is that they come from trees. Many would argue
that paper bags are made up of recycled paper products, but eventually all
of them wouldnt exist without cutting trees. Plastic bags use 40% less
energy to produce and generate 80% less solid waste than paper, according
to United States EPA information.
3. Plastic bags are more weather friendly than paper bags
While you can carry plastic bags in the rain, the same cant be said of paper
bags. Not to mention the possibility of doing so for wet market products
like fish and other seafood products.

4. Recycling plastic bags is more efficient

While the cost of not reycling plastic bags is relatively more expensive than
paper bag, it takes 91% less energy to recycle a pound of plastic than it takes
to recycle a pound of paper, according to United States EPA.

Why not paper bags?

The Disadvantages of Using Paper Bags
Paper bags--made from processed wood chips--are an alternative to
shopping containers made from plastic and cloth, but have their own
drawbacks. According to the Washington Post newspaper website, 10
billion paper bags are used each year in the United States. This has
consequences for the environment, since production of paper requires the
use of energy and natural resources.
1. Waste
The manufacturing processes needed to make paper bags result in plenty
of leftover waste. This waste differs in its nature, but waste of any kind can
be harmful to the environment if not dealt with properly. The waste
produced during paper bag manufacturing and by the use of paper bags
compares unfavorably next to the waste created in the production and use
of plastic bags, a standard alternative to paper bags. According to the
American Chemistry Council, plastic bags are responsible for 80 percent
less waste when compared to paper bags. Paper bags also take up much
more room in landfill sites, with 2,000 paper bags weighing 280 pounds,
compared to the same number of plastic bags accounting for 30 pounds.
2. Environmental Damage
To produce paper bags, the natural environment is being demolished, since
wood is needed in paper's manufacture. According to the Washington Post
newspaper website, 14 million trees are cut down across the world on an
annual basis to produce paper bags. This disrupts the habitats of animals,

and the destruction has further consequences for the Earth's well-being.
Since trees are used by the planet to absorb harmful greenhouse gases,
cutting them down in such large numbers will consequently increase the
effects of global warming.
3. Pollution
The processes used in making paper bags include the heating of the wood
chips in a pressurized environment via a chemical solution; harmful
products such as acid and bleach are also a part of these processes.
These chemicals are placed under hot temperatures, a process that
releases them into the environment. The result is that the production of
paper bags adds to the effects of air pollution, notably acid rain and water
pollution, as the chemicals enter waterways.
4 Energy Used
A Paper bag production uses a great deal of energy. The processes
involved, from cutting down each log to making the finished bag, are long.
The processes consume essential resources such as fossil fuels, which are
finite and will eventually run out if populations continue to use them in such
high quantities. According to an article by the Washington Post newspaper,
producing a paper bag uses as much as four times the energy required by
the plastic bag manufacturing process. In addition, producing a plastic bag
only uses six percent of the water used in manufacturing a paper bag, as
described by the American Chemistry Council.

Why use cloth bags?

1. It is organic and less pollution is generated while making cotton bags.
2. Many people will get continuous jobs as no heavy machinery is used in
stitching the bags or in making cotton cloth by weavers. We can save power and it
can be used for other works.
3. It can be reused more than 1000 times. Hence garbage will be very
less. Municipalities and Panchayats will save lot of money while transporting
daily waste.

4. Petroleum can be saved and foreign exchange can be used for some other
purpose as we are importing Oil from other countries.
5. You can gift cotton bags with your slogan on marriage day or birth day
anniversary.
6. Fruits, vegetables and seeds could not get spoiled if you bring them in cotton
bags. You can protect their freshness for some more time.
7. You can uplift the petty vendors financially as they are sparing an amount of
Rs.2000/- on plastic carry bags when buyers are not bringing any bag with them.
They can save nearly Rs.20, 000/- to Rs.30, 000/- annually. Please check it with
any vendor. If any vendor is not giving you plastic bags, customers will go to
another shop who gives goods in plastic bags.
8. Torn out cotton bags can be used for cleaning floors or vehicles.
9. Drainages can be free from plastic waste. No choking of drainages.
10. No danger to animal life on land and water.
11. We can minimize domestic waste with cotton bags. One bag can save 500
plastic bags in a year. No burning of waste as we use cotton for several times.
Nobody will throw cotton bags after single use.
12. Outskirts of towns will be clean and no white pollution with synthetic bags.
13. We can save sacred cows and milk shortage will be avoided. If we go on using
plastic bags at the present rate, we can see death of several animals and milk
shortage in 2011. Be cautious and act wisely.
14. We can prevent soil from water pollution with several colours used on plastic
bags given by Cloth shops and Sweet shops.
15. Shopping malls are giving so many plastic bags freely by incurring an
expenditure of Rs.50, 000/-. Please think who are going to pay that money.
16. No allergy to our hands while using cotton bags where as you can get skin
allergy if you go on touching plastic bags constantly.
17. We can save our farmers by giving suitable price. Our demand will
automatically give them more price for cotton.
18. Carry the piece of coconut or prasadam in cotton bags. You can not throw away
left out food items with cotton bags as is done with plastic bags. Cotton bags are
not given without cost. Thus very less garbage and death of animals can be
prevented due to the eating of food items with plastic bags.

F. Reusable Packing
Application for the following cases

 High volumes of solid waste

Frequent shrinkage or product damage
Expensive expendable packaging
Underutilized trailer space in transportation
Inefficient storage/warehouse space
Worker safety or ergonomic issues
Significant need for cleanliness/hygiene
Need for unitization
Frequent trips

Advantages
Reusable packaging offers a wide range of economic,
social and environmental benefits over single-use
packaging at all levels of the supply chain.
Economic:
Reduces overall packaging costs
Rapid return on investment (ROI)
Reduces costly product damage
Reduces labor costs
Reduces inventory, requires less space
Reduced cost-per-trip
Improves transportation efficiency through
standardized loads, resulting in fewer trips and reduced

fuel costs.
Residual value at the end of its service life
Social:
Recyclable at the end of its service life
Improves workplace safety
Improves workplace efficiency
Environmental:
Prevents waste from entering the solid waste stream
Reduces greenhouse gas emissions
Supports source reduction
Requires less energy