Packaging is a huge industry. Almost all of the products we use come in some sort of packaging. These items might be something simple and small like an apple or something complicated and large like a wide screen T.V. Packaging can have a huge impact on how well an item sells and every consideration is put into how a piece of packaging looks. There is however a need to reduce the amount of packaging we use. The most annoying waste of packaging I can think of is when apples (normally 4 of them and of a *Finest variety) in supermarkets are placed in a polystyrene base and then wrapped in plastic. To be fair, most companies have made a conscious effort to reduce the amount of packaging they use. The picture above gives some examples of companies who have tried to reduce the amount of packaging they use and the drastic benifits this has had for the environment.
Clockwise from top-left:
1) Coca-Cola 8-ounce bottle: A smaller and lighter bottle (while retaining the same capacity), resulting in reduction in materials used: savings on the material as well as transport costs.
2) Arrowhead Mineral Water bottle: Nestle redesigned the bottle and cap to make it lighter and more recyclable, while narrowing the label by half an inch. This result in a 30% reduction in plastics used (while featuring the extra recess as handle), and less paper for the label.
3) Big Mac packaging: This is a familiar one - The Styrofoam clam shell burger packaging's were switched to the current paper-based ones, making them biodegradable.
4) Crest Toothpaste: P&G introduced a standalone rigid tube for Crest toothpaste, so that there wouldn’t be a need for individual paper-based boxes that most toothpastes now still come in.
