PLASTICS in-class

Volume 1, Issue 3 November 1998

TACKLING PACKAGING WASTE

How ARE WE REDUCING THE AMOUNT OF PACKAGING WASTE GOING INTO LANDFILLS?
Read this issue to find the answer

Canadian industry is responding in a positive and measurable way to the strong emphasis that Canadians con-tinue to place on the environment. Take, for example, packaging waste. According to numbers from Statistics Canada and endorsed by the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment in January of this year, the seven-year period from 1989 to 1996 saw 11.7 million tonnes of packaging waste diverted from landfill. This amount has been said to fill a line of garbage trucks stretching bumper to bumper from Vancouver to Halifax and back to Toronto. How did we do it?

tributed to those source reduction numbers on two fronts. First, they have replaced other heavier packaging materials. Second, they have reduced the amount of plastics going into some existing plastics packaging applications. For example, the 2-litre PET soda pop bottle is 25 per cent lighter today than it was when it was first introduced in 1977. But it still carries the same amount of pop. The plastic milk pouch is another good example of reduction. An EPIC study found that the four-litre plastic pouch package (three separate pouches totalling four litres in volume and then packaged in a plastic outer bag) is the most efficient packaging solution for delivering milk. It produces only 7 kg of solid waste per 1,000 litres of fluid milk delivered versus other alternative packages that produce over two to four times more waste.

Source Reduction
Source reduction essentially means reducing the amount of material that goes into making a package while maintaining all the needed performance or food safety requirements. The weight reduction in the packaging enables one to conserve natural resources. In 1996, 4.89 million tonnes of new packaging was used, as compared to 6.18 million tonnes in 1988 a drop of 21 per cent through source reduction. Because plastics are lighter than most other materials, there is a trend toward using them in various packaging applications. This means that plastics have conFully committed to furthering industry involvement in responsible solid waste management.

Reuse
Reusing packaging rather than throwing it out is another way that Canadians have cut down on the amount of waste going into landfill. Canadians reused approximately 4.07 million tonnes or 47 per cent of the total amount of packaging used in 1996. The majority of that figure stems from the concentrated efforts of industry, business, schools, hospitals and government departments. For example, there has been

5925 Airport Rd. Suite 500 Mississauga, Ontario L4V 1W1

Telephone: (905) 678-7405, ext 231 Fax: (905) 678-0774 www.plastics.ca/epic

EPIC is a Council of the Canadian Plastics Industry Association

increased use of plastic crates for transporting and shipping apples and other produce in the fruit and vegetable industry. These crates replace one-way boxes and are strong enough to be reused over and over again. The milk industry is also using reusable plastic crates, as is the soft drink industry. And, industrial-use drums

Canadians have also accepted recycling as part of their daily lives. In 1996, 2.2 million tonnes of packaging material were recycled into new products and packages, compared to only 0.59 million tonnes in 1988. Statistics Canada reports that 45 per cent of all the plastic packaging used in Canada in 1996 was recycled or reused. Again, a large proportion of that is due to the many waste diversion projects taking place in the industrial and commercial sectors. Canadian households, however, are also recycling. The two most popular household plastics currently being recycled in Canada include PET and HDPE. PET (polyethylene terephthalate) is the material often found in soda pop bottles and beverage containers, as well as in vegetable and salad oil bottles and sometimes, ketchup bottles. PET can be recycled into all sorts of things, including fibre for carpeting and clothing (jackets, T-shirts, sweatshirts and more), as well as office binders and file folders. HDPE, which stands for high density polyethylene, is the plastic material often used for milk jugs, shampoo bottles and juice bottles. It can be recycled into many different products, like plastic fencing, and sometimes, is even used in making the recycling boxes used in municipal Blue Box curbside collection programs.

Did you know?

Plastics typically weigh less than competing packaging materials! Plastics offer superior resistance to breakage and denting!! Plastic films protect food from spoilage and allow people to look at it without having to touch it directly. As recently as the 1960s, meats were often displayed without any form of protective packaging!! Plastics generally use less raw materials to deliver more product per unit of packaging than other packaging systems!!

HDPE is used in milk jugs and is one of Canadas two most popular household plastics currently being recycled. are now making 10 trips before being reconditioned for further reuse or made into other products like tiles, pipes and plastic shipping pallets. Canadian households have also shown their commitment to reuse through common everyday actions like using a plastic grocery sack as a garbage bag or an empty margarine tub to hold food leftovers.

Recycling

EPIC has developed a number of educational tools to assist teachers in a fun and interactive way. To learn more about these tools, contact The Environment and Plastics Industry Council, 5925 Airport Road, Suite 500, Mississauga, Ontario L4V 1W1 (905) 678-7748, fax: (905) 678-0774, e-mail: kwolfe@cpia.ca

Plastics in-class
is published five times a year by the Environment and Plastics Industry Council (EPIC) and is an information vehicle for elementary school teachers to keep them informed on the developments in the plastics industry and up-to-date on the contribution plastics make to the environment. EPIC 5925 Airport Rd., Suite 500 Mississauga, Ontario L4V 1W1 905 678-7748 Fax: 905 678-0774 EPIC is a council of the Canadian Plastics Industry Association. Website: www.plastics.ca/epic/index.htm