Please find for your convenience below a list of sources for facts found in British Plastics Federation printed materials.
Why do we use plastic for packaging? (6-page flyer - 2019)
Why do we use plastic for packaging?
1. 2.7 times more greenhouse gasses
Bernd Brandt and Harald Pilz. The impact of plastic packaging on life cycle energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in Europe: Executive Summary July 2011 https://www.plasticseurope.org/download_file/force/1083/181 )
2. Cost to human health and ecosystems. Dollars converted to pounds.
Source: Trucost Plastics and Sustainability: A Valuation of Environmental Benefits, Costs and Opportunities for Continuous Improvement
3. 8 million more tonnes:
From factsheet How Plastics Can Help Enhance a Packaging’s Environmental Performance” Based on Study: “Impact of Plastics Packaging on Life Cycle Energy Consumption & Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the United States and Canada,” Franklin Associates, 2014. This study measures energy use and GHG emissions
Calculation of UK
Based on 2,260,000 tonnes plastic packaging produced, from Defra report
UK statistics on waste, Feb 2019
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/778594/UK_Statistics_on_Waste_statistical_notice_Feb_2019.pdf
2,260,000 x 3.6 = 8136000
4. Graph, featuring substituting plastics from:
Bernd Brandt and Harald Pilz. The impact of plastic packaging on life cycle energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in Europe: Executive Summary July 2011 http://www.plasticseurope.org/documents/document/20111107113205-e_ghg_packaging_denkstatt_vers_1_1.pdf )
5. Academics warn against plastics ban:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-46396658
https://www.politicshome.com/news/uk/economy/manufacturing/opinion/british-plastics-federation/101180/plastic-alternatives-could
6. 2 billion people have no access to regular waste collection
UNEP’s Global Waste Management Outlook (GWMO)
ACCESSED http://web.unep.org/ourplanet/september-2015/unep-publications/global-waste-management-outlook
What About Food Waste?
1. If food wastage were a country, it would be the third largest GHG emitting in the world.
http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/nr/sustainability_pathways/docs/FWF_and_climate_change.pdf
CAIT, 2015. Climate Data Explorer. World Resources Institute
2. Food waste in developing countries where packaging is not used effectively can be extremely high, with food loss at production and transport accounting for two-thirds of global food waste.
Food Foolish: The Hidden Connection Between Food Waste, Hunger and Climate Change by John Mandyck and Eric Schultz
“Often in developing countries, food decays in fields or farms before harvest or else spoils while it's being transported. In fact, food loss at the production and distribution level accounts for two-thirds of global food waste.” From interview, published:
https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2015/09/28/444188475/even-poor-countries-end-up-wasting-tons-of-food?t=1550653466222
3. Apple Fact:
Eliminating packaging from fresh fruit and vegetables can lead to increased product waste. A study that compared apples sold loose with four in a shrink-wrapped tray showed that there was 27% more waste (bruised apple and used packaging) from orchard to home from those sold loose. (Source: ERM)
http://www.packagingfedn.co.uk/images/Industry%20News/Press%20Statement%20-%20Packaging%20Saves%20Waste.pdf
4. Cucumber Fact:
Cucumber Growers' Association tests show that unwrapped cucumbers are unsaleable
after 3 days; just 1.5 grams of plastic wrapping (and 0.4 grams of paper label) keeps
them fresh for 14 days and untouched by dirty hands.
5. Steak Fact:
Innovative packaging for steak has resulted in a 50% reduction in food waste and can extend shelf life by up to ten days. How Packaging Contributes to Food Waste Prevention. Summary of a study by denkstatt GmbH in cooperation with ARA AG (Austrian packaging recycling association) and further partners from the sectors retail, packaging production and science (Denkstatt 2014). http://denkstatt.at/files/How_Packaging_Contributes_to_Food_Waste_Prevention_V1.2.pdf )
