Impact of packaging on the environment

Abstract

The packages and the environment represents two elements what are in a tight interrelation. The human factor is what reglements this relationship. Packaging is a way of expressing the modern consumer, influencing his behavior, reflecting the lifestyle and the value system. A major issue, one of the many environmental issues, that threaten our planet, is packaging waste. Annually there are great amounts of packaging waste generated from both the production and trade activities, as well as from population. Daily each of us throws packages that are no longer useful, which are empty, broken or worn out, but few are aware of the process that packages are exposed to, while they continue to exist and emerge harmful substances. The increasing importance of packaging and its functions has been determined by the innovations in the field of packaging materials, the use of new packaging methods as well as the adaptation at European and international level of regulations designed to protect both the consumer and the environment from the harmfulness of inadequate packaging or which, in the process of degradation, can be sources of pollution. Recycling is of interest not only for the protection of the environment but also for the considerable reduction of the producers’ cost. It's absolutly necessary to aware the impact of packages and the time of their degradation. A resonable solution is to recylce and to use eco - packages what are already implemented in a lot of countries.