2023-12-04 09:23:24
Updated: Dec 4, 2023 | 08:23
04 dic 2023 | 08:22
If you are one of those people who carefully observe the packaging in the bathroom and kitchen, if you analyze the ingredients or the place of origin of the products, we offer you a new hobby: finding the details that reveal whether a container has been manufactured applying ecodesign measures.
Most likely, you have already realized it, even if it was unconscious; Now you can finish the yogurt until the end. The reason is that the edges of its container are no longer square, but rounded, so you can now scoop with just the spoon (without licking) and without wasting a gram of product.
The origin of this maximum use of food is in ecodesign, a fundamental tool to move towards the circular economy, which allows companies to reduce the environmental impact of their packaging.
Like the example cited, many more: packaging that is easier to recycle, lighter and reusable… In total, and in the last two years, 2,093 companies that are part of Ecoembes have applied 7,694 eco-design measures to reduce the environmental impact of the packaging they sell.
From here, the game begins. Look at each packaging, and not just those for food: also those for detergents, shampoos, toothpastes, drinks… The packaging of a multitude of products in our daily lives has changed to be more sustainable.
Of the more than 2,000 measures applied by companies, 30% are aimed at improving the recyclability of packaging and the reincorporation of recycled material in its manufacturing. These are followed by those related to weight reduction (26%), redesigning packaging for better use of resources and space (18%) and opting for materials that generate a lower environmental impact (12%).
Other essential measures to move towards the circular economy are the elimination of packaging elements or purchasing in bulk (11%) and the manufacture of reusable packaging (3%). Ecodesign measures are the improvement of recyclability and the incorporation of recycled material, the reduction of packaging material – and therefore weight -, the better use of the product or the use of renewable or reusable materials. We see it in the following graph.
What do these measures translate into? Here are some examples of ecodesign as well as the function they fulfill in each case:
Fluted plastic bottles: they facilitate folding to take up less space in the yellow containers, which helps to facilitate the recycling process. Cardboard labels that come off much more easily than traditional ones: they allow us to correctly separate the plastic packaging (to the yellow bucket) and the label (to blue). Some shampoo bottles are more transparent or translucent than before, which facilitates the recycling process. Incorporation of lighter lids, such as aluminum film, which replace traditional lids. of tin from some canned food, to reduce the weight of the container. The aforementioned rounded glasses, a simple change in shape that allows the spoon to reach better and does not leave traces of product. Also the upside-down formats, more typical in sauces and mayonnaises, which allow you to make the most of the product. All in order to reduce waste.
Tips for choosing sustainable packaging
In short, and beyond the love of analyzing packaging and labels, if you want to consume responsibly, it will be useful for you to know these signs of eco-design to choose the most sustainable packaging:
Pay attention to whether they are made with recycled material, Prioritize reusable containers; Containers with only one material are easier to recycle than those with more; Choose containers that are easy to fold so that they take up less space in the containers
Additionally, as a curiosity, transparent containers are easier to recycle than opaque ones, since the dark tones make it difficult to identify the material in recycling plants.
20 years making the most sustainable packaging
Thanks to this type of measures, Ecoembes points out, in 2021 and 2022 the emission of more than 992,000 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere has been avoided. But the effort of companies to apply this environmental approach to their packaging began in 1999: since then, the weight of packaging has been reduced by 18.7% and the emission of more than 2.3 million tons has been avoided. CO2 equivalents, the consumption of 24.6 million MWh of energy and 221 million m3 of water, according to a report by Ecoembes, the organization that coordinates the management of the yellow and blue container packaging.
This remodeling of packaging, which has benefits for the environment (reduction in the consumption of materials, water, energy, waste and waste), has been achieved thanks to a process in which innovation and technology work at the service of circular economy.
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#ecodesign #reduces #food #waste