Campaigns should focus on energy reduction and not recycling says Incpen

Incpen commissioned a report, “Towards Greener Households: Products, Packaging and Energy”, to gain a better understanding of how packaging can contribute to environmental improvement. The study is based on UK government statistics on household consumption of goods and shows that packaging's impact on the environment, measured by energy, is only 3%.

The organisation said that councils should not be concentrating on getting consumers to recycle bottles, cans and paper – as its study has revealed that while this helps a little, there are better things that can be done to save the environment. The report says: “If a household owing a four-wheel drive car exchanged it for a family saloon which can do 40 miles to the gallon this would, in one year, save the same amount of energy as recycling all the family's glass bottles for 400 bottles.

“If people have better information they can focus on the areas where they really make a difference and not feel guilty about trivial decisions. The environmental difference between glass, metal, paper and plastic packaging is insignificant compared with the impact of everyday activities. Industry should aim at continuous improvement of all packaging but consumers should not worry about the environmental difference between types. They should simply choose what best suites their needs.”

Incpen has called for the government to give people better information as research shows that while 46% of the British public take part in recycling schemes, only 11% see the benefits of cutting down on car journeys and 8% use less electricity even though these have a much bigger impact on the environment.

Complacent

Jane Bickerstaffe, director of Incpen, said: “This report does not mean that the packaging industry is going to become complacent in its use of materials and energy. We live in an age of convenience and every industry, including the packaging industry, has to respond to public demands but it must do so using far fewer resources.”

She added: “However a broad overview like this does show where the public focus should be. It is no good thinking you are helping to save the environment if you recycle all your bottles but use a four-wheel drive car consuming petrol as the rate of 20 miles to the gallon.”

Following the findings of its report, Incpen has recommended that the industry minimises overall waste by providing a wider range of products and pack sizes and makes longer life goods which can be repaired.

The organisation has also called on the government to adopt a more integrated approach to the environment and said it needs to encourage planners to take account of the impact on the environment of small households. Incpen said that shared facilities like washing machines should be installed in apartments in a similar way to continental Europe.

Incpen added that consumers need to focus their attention on the bigger impact they can make on saving the environment by choosing fuel efficient cars, making energy savings at home and choosing goods and foods which avoid generating large amounts of waste.

For more information visit Incpen's website