More and more concern is being expressed about the amount of packaging being used on many goods. There are often layers and layers of different materials that are currently the main items of bob-recyclable rubbish that has to go into landfill. There are a number of different types of eco friendly packaging and consumers should be writing to their supermarket chains and asking them to use more of them.
Eco Friendly or Environmentally Friendly packaging causes far less damage to the environment. Packaging is of three different types:
• Reusable packaging which are materials that can be cleaned and re-used. For example, glass milk bottles are reused, and carrier bags made from plastic that is non-degradable SHOULD be reused many times. However, shopping bags made from natural materials such as cotton or jute are even better as they are biodegradable as well as being reusable.
• Recyclable packaging is made of materials that can be used again, usually after processing. Recyclable materials include glass such as glass bottles, metal such as drink cans, card and paper. Eco friendly recycled packaging includes such things as PET plastic cups, compressed paper and board cartons.
• Biodegradable packaging will easily break down in the soil or the atmosphere. All kinds of different biodegradable packaging are now available such as PLA bioplastic, paperboard and sugar bagasse containers, palm leaf and bamboo containers. We can expect that new types of such packaging will become available and eventually become much cheaper.