Food Packaging

and the
Environment

Course Code: FOOD 3003

Instructor: Veronic Bezaire
Students: Gouled Sadiq, Yiran Zhang
Date: 2010-11-30
 Table of Content

I. Introduction and
History..............................................................................3

II. Scientific
background.................................................................................4

III. Paper packaging

1. Life cycle of paper
packaging..................................................................................5
2. Effects on
environment............................................................................................6
3. Future areas for
research........................................................................................9

IV. Plastic packaging

1. Life cycle of paper
packaging..................................................................................
2. Effects on
environment............................................................................................
3. Future areas for
research........................................................................................

V. Glass packaging
1. Life cycle of paper
packaging........................................................................................
2. Effects on
environment........................................................................................
3. Future areas for

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research........................................................................................

VI. Metal packaging

1. Life cycle of paper
packaging........................................................................................
2. Effects on
environment........................................................................................
3. Future areas for
research........................................................................................

VII. Practical tips for consumers.................................................

VIII. Policies and Regulations..............................................................

IX. References........................................................................................

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I. Introduction and History

1. Paper packaging

Paper packaging has a long history and can be regarded as the earliest
packaging. But not until the year of 1896, which is several centuries later than
paper was invented, people did not realize that it can be recycled. In 1896, an
American family settled the first recycling centre, though they only collected
rags and newspapers [1]. In the year 1971, an American institute first started
to use recycle symbol on recycled paper packaging. They are promoted to
customers in 1990 [2], and the amount of them exceeded that of wasted
paper in landfills in 3 years later [1]. Under the increasing environmental
pressure, recycled paper also saw a great increase in 2006. 100% recycled
paper appeared in 2009, and is applied to a variety of paper products.

2. Plastic packaging

The first plastic appeared in 1855, which was made by Alexander Parkes [3].
In response to the environmental protection, biodegradable plastic packaging
was then invented in the early 90's [4]. They were made both starch together
with polyolefin, which is regarded as residue in the degradation.
Approximately 3 years later, 100% biodegradable plastic packaging then
came to market. However, biodegradable plastic packaging was not adopted
by foodservice companies until 2003.

3. Glass packaging

Glass was accidently discovered in Syria in 5000 B.C Merchants put cooking
pots on blocks of nitrate. The high heat melted with the nitrate and then mixed
with sand to form a dark liquid and finally cooled as glass.

Glass was first recycled in the United Kingdom in 1977. In 1971, Kitchener,
Ontario was the first city in Canada to set up a recycling program which aims
at reducing pollution and waste in our environment.

Glass is one of the most important components in our day to day lives. Glass
can be used as food packaging containers or other items such as windows,
beverage containers, mirrors, dishes, light bulbs and many more. There are
about 40 million glass containers produced by manufacturers every year and
30% of those glass containers are recyclable.

Consumers do not recycle even half of those recyclable containers. Glass are

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not biodegradable meaning it takes almost 1 million for glass to fully degrade.
When consumers recycle glass bottles reduces pollution and saves the
environment. Glass come in different colors and textures and is often
transparent and brittle.

Fig 1-3-1 Percentage of glass recycled

The table below (fig 1-3-1) shows the percentage of glass recycled in Canada
and in different countries. Canada is ranked 24th compared to countries such
as Switzerland, Austria, Netherlands, Turkey and Mexico. In 2006, not all
provinces had equal access to the same recycling programs. According to the
data retrieved by the Household and Environment Survey (HES) it states that
‘‘about 93% of households in Canada had access to at least one type of
recyclable item either glass, plastic, paper or metal”. The 2 factors that affect
an individual in participating in recycling program within the city would be level
of education and Income levels.
Households that had a minimum of 1 university graduate had about 95%
access to recycling programs. Households which were comprised of
uneducated individuals had about 85% access to recycling programs. Also,
98% of households who had an income greater than 80,000 had a recycling
program in effect. Whereas, individuals who had an income of 40,000 had
about 89% percent access to recycling programs. Over the years Canada is
getting recycling more and more. This is positive for both the environment and
manufacturers.

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4. Metal packaging

Metals are ancient materials which have been here since the 17th century.
Metal recycling dates as far back as in 1776, were metal was first recycled in
the United States of America in the city of New York.
Metals are important elements used in our packaging material and have a
diverse impact in our environment. Also important to note, Steel and
aluminum (old metal material) are used to form new products by recycling.
Recycling old metal material uses 95% less energy than forming metal
initially. If consumers recycle metals this they only use 4% of metal`s entire
energy which intern can reduce greenhouse gases and save our natural
resources.

II. Scientific background

A life cycle assessment (LCA) is a quantitive method to analysis the influence

a product may has on the environment during its life cycle. It is now applied in
the packaging industry. The definition can be described as comparing and
assessing different types of packaging quantitively in their raw materials
gaining, manufacturing, transporting, marketing, consuming, recycling and
ultimate abandoning procedures [1].

In LCA method, the potential environmental impact of products during their

entire life is recorded and evaluated. LCAs also help to identify those factors
in products and production processes that have a significant impact on the
climate.

Below is an example of the LCA for two different types of milk packaging:
beverage cartons and refillable bottles. (fig. 2-1)

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 Fig. 2-1 LCA of milk packaging

III. Paper packaging

1. Life cycle of paper packaging

The life of a paper packaging starts with raw materials gaining by cutting
down trees. After that, the woods are transported to factory to make pulps
through chemical pulping process. In the factory, pulps will go through
beating, drying, smoothing, coating and cutting process to turn into paper. For
packaging paper, they are distributed to food factories or retail stores and then
enter households. Used paper packaging may either go to landfills to be
composed or be recycled. (Fig. 3-1-1)

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 Fig. 3-1-1 Life cycle of paper packaging

2. Effects on environment

(1) Advantages of paper packaging

- Recyclable: avoid reforestation and save energy

The waste paper packaging are first sorted into different groups, and then go
through re-pulping process, where water, chemicals and heat are applied, to
make mushy pulp. Then the pulp will be forced through a screen to remove
some small contaminants, such as plastic contents and glues. Several large
cone-shape cleaning cylinders may spin the heavy contaminants in pulp like
staples to the bottom and light ones to the centre, and then remove them,
thus clean the pulp. To avoid yellowing under the effects of chemicals,
brightening agent is added into pulp, and then enter another higher efficiency
cleaning cylinders. The subsequent de-inking process not only wash off the

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printing inks but also remove stickies (glue and adhesives) by the integrated
effects of water, air and surfactants [?]. If the collected papers are colored,
color stripping agents will be injected to the pulp, which is called
decolourization. At last, all the chemical agents used in former steps are
washed off in preparation for paper making. (Fig 3-2-1)

Fig 3-2-1 Recycling of Paper Packaging

More than 1/2 paper packagings consumed now are recycled, while the
fibrous base of corrugated cardboard is the most ideal. In addition, the end
product is easily recycled into creative or useful supplies for children,
presentations, and moving. It is estimated that recycling one short ton (0.91 t)
of paper may avoid harvesting 17 mature trees [2]. This may help avoid
deforestation, thus reduce the risk of facing soil erosion and flood.

Energy consumption is also reduced by recycling, although there is debate

concerning the actual value of energy saving. Some calculations show that
recycling one short ton of paper saves about 4,000 kW·h (14 GJ) of electricity
[2], which is enough to power a 3-member European family for 1 year [3].
- Biodegradable

Paper packaging can be degraded by bacteria and be used as fertilizer for

plants. This property of paper packaging contributes to reducing the landfill
spaces and simplifying the disposal of paper waste. Specifically, the papers
with a degradation percentage of more than 60% within 45 days can be
allowed, but the proportion usually cannot exceed 27% in dry weight [4]. The
ability to degrade means less white wastes in the landfills, which creates a
better appearance of our city. (Fig 3-2-2)

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 i

Fig 3-2-2 Degradation of Paper plate

(2) Disadvantages of paper packaging

The environmental hazards of paper packaging mainly come from its waste
products and the consumption of woods:

- Contamination in Water
The paper industry may be a major source of accumulated toxic chemicals in
rivers. Those chemicals are mostly produced during pulping and de-inking.
Among various types of pulping methods, chemical pulping is the most
commonly used, during which chemicals are added to dissolve lignin, thus
cellulose can be separated. But these chemical reactions will produce large
amount of black effluents and obnoxious gases. The de-inking process, in
order to whiten recycled paper, will also exhaust effluents containing heavy
metals, such as lead and cadmium, resulting in cancer and hypertension
respectively [5].

- Solid wastes
Solid wastes are generated during paper recycling. Paper can only be
recycled for limited number of times till the chain length of fibers become too
short, and the short chain fibers will then join the group of solid wastes [6].
Recycling process may also wash off the coatings, pigments, inks, dyes and
staples, contributing to another source for solid wastes. These wastes usually
consume a large percentage of the landfill space, and may result in trace
contaminants distributed into soil or area lakes and streams. These trace
contaminants can enter our respiratory trace, digestive trace and skin and

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accumulate in our body, and cause many diseases such as itai-itai disease
(bone aching) and minamata disease.

- Pollution to Air
Incineration of de-inking sludge and fuel combustion during the production
process are main sources of standard air pollutants, such as carbon dioxide,
nitrous oxides, sulfur dioxides, carbon monoxides and particulates [7], among
which, carbon dioxide is dominant (Fig 3-2-3). In addition, the incineration of
solid wastes mentioned before can produce waste gases as well. These
contaminations may contribute to ozone warnings, acid rain, global warming,
and for human, respiratory problems.

Fig 3-2-3 The percentage of contaminated gases in total waste gases

- Energy Consumption
Large amount of energy is needed to manufacture both virgin paper and
recycled paper. However, energy used in recycled paper is much less than
virgin paper (table 3-2-4). Transportation of delivering, processing and
distribution will also have energy cost.
Paper pulp, from recycled paper Paper pulp, from wood
Impact: 215.07 Impact: 716.55
Table 3-2-4
- Water Consumption
The whole paper making process uses a great deal of water. 30-50m3 water is
required for 1 ton of paper pulp [8].
- Other materials consumed in paper production (table 3-2-5)
Table 3-2-5 Inventory of material use, energy use and emission for corrugated
box production
(per 1000m2)

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- Deforestation
Paper pulp production has become a critical factor in the world’s deforestation
trends (responsible for 20%), enormous virgin forests are reduced for it [9]. It
is reported that to manufacture 1 pound of paper, 3.5 pounds of wood are
required. Being a great environmental issue across the whole world,
deforestation may cause the loss of biological diversity, soil erosion, flooding
and climate change.

3. Future areas for research

- Eco-friendly milk carton
A Norwegian company called Elopak launched this green carton pack for milk
recently. This packaging will lower the carbon footprint and save the
manufacturing cost by reducing the weight of board and cap. Among 70×70,
1000mL milk cartons, Elopak carton uses the lightest cap of 2.07g. This

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reduction together with lightening of carton body contribute to the cost saving
of 2-5% and carbon dioxide saving of 10% compared to other milk cartons in
the market [10].

- SmartPack environmental food packaging

SmartPack packaging can be defined as a "bag in box" packaging. The outer
box part is made of 100% bio-degradable and recyclable cardboard, while the
inner plastic bag only use 26% of materials consumed in a standard container.
In this way, the waste products generated in manufacturing and recycling, as
well as the producing cost can be reduced.
This new type of packaging can also be
folded when transporting or storing, which
will save cost for these processes and
lower the carbon footprint. It is calculated
that a 40-foot trailer can carry 46,800
folded SmartPack packagings, while for
standard containers in the same size, the
value is only 2,500 [11].

IV. Plastic packaging

1．Life cycle of plastic packaging

The vast majority of plastic packagings are made of petroleum, so the oil rig is
necessary to drill oil wells. Once the oil is extracted, a pipeline connecting oil
well to chemical plant may transporting it to refinery facilities to make nurdles,
which can produce a variety of plastic products. For plastic packaging, taking
plastic bottles as an example, the nurdles are distributed to bottling plants.

13
Water, being one of the raw materials, arrives at the plants at the same time.
After the processing of bottlers, plastic bottles are then distributed to beverage
factories or retail stores to play a role as containers. Used plastic packages
will become wastes, and go through a waste management process.

Life Cycle of Plastic

Fig. 4-1-1 Life cycle of plastic packaging

Plastic wastes can either be reused or incinerated. For reusing, they can
either be simply refilled or reprocessed to bottles, fibers, straps and sheets.

Fig4-1-2. Flowchart of waste management of plastic packaging

2．Effects on environment

(1) Advantages of plastic packaging

- Reusability and returnability

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Dislike paper packaging, which mostly can only be used once, plastic
packaging is more reusable and returnable. For example, plastic bags from
supermarket can be reused as trash bags or bin bags. This may leads to a
less consumption of plastic packaging, thus less consumption of energy,
pestrol and other resources in plastic production. Reusable and returnable
plastic packaging can reduce the requirement for landfill space, too. Small
quantities of plastic packaging reused for a long time also means a great
reduction of disposing cost.

A calculation for this [12]:

1 returnable packaging reused for 100 times compared to 100 expendable
containers:
Weight of the expendable packaging: 25 kg
Weight of the returnable packaging: 40 kg
Total packaging material weight saving:
100 x 25 – 1 x 40 =2,460 Kg !!!

- Biodegradable plastic packaging

Biodegradable plastics are now widely used in food packaging. Then can be
decomposed in both aerobic and anaerobic environments by microorganisms.
However, they are still not panacea, because of the emission of carbon
dioxide and methane related to global warming. There are various types of
biodegradable plastic such as polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs),
polyhydroxyvalerate (PHV), polyhydroxyhexanoate (PHH), Polylactic acid
(PLA), starch derivatives, cellulose derivatives and so on, among which PHA
and PLA are 100% degradable．　　　
The picture below shows the cycle of degradation and degradable plastic bag.
Their life cycle is similar to traditional plastic packaging except the
decomposing process by microorganisms. (fig. 4-2-1)

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Fig. 4-2-1 Lifecycle of biodegradable plastic packaging & Biodegradable plastic bag

(2) Disadvantages of plastic packaging

- Wastes
Although plastic packagings are reusable, they are not so efficiently reused.
Current output of plastic packaging is 300 million tonnes/year, but nearly half
of which are used just once and then become wastes [13]. Take plastic bag as
an example, it has an average “working life” of only 15 minutes [13]. The great
amount of plastic waste will not only occupy spaces in landfills, but affect the
city appearance as well.
1
- Pollution to air
Production and incineration of plastic packaging release toxic VOCs (volatile
organic compounds) to our living and working place, which will do harm to our
healthy. For example, dioxin included in these VOCs is a carcinogen and can
distribute easily with airflow. In addition, when non recyclable plastics come to
landfills before disposal, they won’t degrade either, which means the entire life
cycle of plastic packaging is releasing VOCs continually [14].

- Pollution to water
Plastic wastes running into seas and oceans will
cause severe damage to oceanic ecological balance.
With an estimated 4.7 million tonnes of plastic spills
into ocean each year, and an average of 120,000
tonnes each day, plastics have been regarded as the
major cause of hormonal disruption in fish [13].

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UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) reports that 100,000 marine
mammals and same amount of seabirds are killed by oceanic plastic wastes
every year [13].

- Energy consumption
Plastic manufacturing and recycling will both consume a great deal of energy,
especially non-renewable energy, such as fossil fuel and petroleum. It is
estimated that plastic production uses 8% of the world’s oil [13]. However,
energy used in plastic processing is less than that in paper making.

3．Future areas for research

- Degradable plastic packaging

According to the large consumption of petroleum and the inability to degrade,
traditional plastics are surely to be replaced by biodegradable plastics. The
most ideal biodegradable plastic is PLA, which is made from corns and other
crops containing large amount of starch and sugar. It is estimated that 2.3
tons of crops are used for procuring 1 ton of plastic, which means there will be
a great consumption of crops. So the future research on plastic may focus on
a new source to produce biodegradable plastic.

V. Glass Packaging

1. Life cycle of glass packaging

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Figure 5-1-1: This figure shows the life of a glass container going through the
process of recycling.

As the consumer puts the glass bottle in the recycle bin it is collected and
taken to the processor where it is sorted and cleaned of any contaminants.
Glass is then crushed into small pieces named cullet. Glass is primarily made
by adding 3 components together silica sand, soda ash and limestone. But in
the process of recycling small pieces of cullet are added. Mixture is melted to
molten state in a furnace at 1,575˚C. The molten glass is poured into molds.
Container is then cooled very slow in order to increase it’s strength. Finally,
glass containers are stored in packages and returned to shelves. It takes only
8-12 weeks to go back onto the shelves. Just by simply recycling glass you
save the environment from pollution, conserved energy, conserved landfill
space and have minimized greenhouse gases. These will be addressed later
on.

2. Effects on environment

(1) Advantages of recycling glass

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- Reduces pollution by 20% in the environment and save enough energy to
light a 100 Watt light bulb for 4 hours

Figure 5-2-1: Saving in energy and pollution reduction percentage

of Glass and Aluminum

Recycled glass reduces pollution by as much as 20% in the environment.

When raw material glass material is made it requires energy through the
burning of fuels like oil, natural gases and coals. Making new glass means
that one has to heat limestone, soda ash and sand to a temperature of
about 2,600 ˚C requires a lot of energy and makes a lot of pollution in our
environment. Recycled glass consumes 40% less energy than glass made
from raw material. Also, glass made from raw material creates fossil fuel
emissions and emits dangerous greenhouse gases. Recycling glass saves
about 315 kg of CO2 from being released into our atmosphere. One tonne
of recycled glass saves us the usage of 12 tonnes of raw material.

- Glass does not degrade and no loss in quality

A glass bottle taken to landfills requires almost 1 million years to fully

degrade. Glass is 100% recyclable meaning that one can use, reuse
multiple amounts of time. Glass will never loss its quality nor its purity due to
its chemical nature.

- Recycled glass melts at a lower temperature

The material does not have to be heated as much and less energy is
needed in the process of manufacturing. Cullet melts at a lower temperature

19
 than raw material in making glass. This in turn reduces pollution in the
environment and saves a lot of energy too.

- Creates jobs

The more consumers there are recycling more jobs begin to be created.
Some jobs are general labour, truck drivers, account managers and more.

(2) Disadvantages of recycling glass material

When recycling glass material must be free from contaminants which affects
its quality such as:
- Ceramics (coffee mugs, plates)
- Window glass
- Mirrors
- Light bulbs
- Pyrex glass
- Wired glass

These different types of glassware mentioned above, if inserted with a

truckload of glass can contaminate glass and for that reason they reduce
the quality of glass. A consumer may unconsciously slip one or more of
these items inside glass recycling bins and for that reason this can affect the
recycling process of glass. Being careful is important in this case.

3. Future areas for research

Do at the end!

VI. Metal Packaging

1. Life Cycle of Metal Packaging

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 Fig 6-1-1: Life cycle of typical aluminum can

OnceAluminum starts off as an ore named bauxite, this by nature is about 40-
60% aluminum oxide. The bauxite ore is extracted deep underground. Bauxite
then goes through the process of refining (free it from any impurities). It is
then dissolved in high pressure and temperature to give a fine white powder
named alumina. Dried alumina is shipped to a smelter (which is metal working
furnance) it is then reduced to molten aluminum.

Aluminum begins as bauxite ore, which is 45 to 60 percent aluminum oxide.

Bauxite is formed deep underground, and is typically mined in open pits, a process
that produces vast amounts of waste rock. After it’s extracted, the bauxite undergoes
extensive cleaning and processing, after which it is dissolved in a caustic solution
under high temperature and pressure to produce a fine, white powder called
alumina. The dried alumina is then shipped to a smelter, a metal-working furnace,
where it is reduced to molten aluminum. This is done by liberating oxygen from the
alumina, a change that occurs only at a very high temperature-over 1,200 degrees
Celsius-so the process is extremely energy intensive.

21
Used aluminum beverage cans are the most recycled item in the U.S., but other
types of aluminum, such as siding, gutters, car components, storm window frames,
and lawn furniture can also berecycled.Primary (that is, non-recycled) aluminum
production demands more energy per unit mass of finished metal than does the
production of any other metal. According to the Container Recycling Institute in
Washington, DC, the amount of energy needed to produce enough aluminum for one
beverage can is equivalent to about one-quarter of that can filled with gasoline. In
1999, aluminum production accounted for 2 percent of the world’s energy use.

Because aluminum smelting is so energy intensive, mining companies look for the
cheapest energy they can find, and that usually means shipping the alumina great
distances. The aluminum in your soda or beer can probably originated as bauxite in
Australia, Brazil, Guinea, or Jamaica-the countries that produce three-quarters of the
world’s bauxite. The smelters themselves are often sited next to power plants-and
indeed, many power plants are built especially to supply aluminum smelters.
(Virtually all aluminum smeltering is done with electricity.)

Worldwide, over half the aluminum industry’s energy supply comes from
hydroelectric dams, and the industry is a powerful lobby for dam construction. Like
mines, these dams cause enormous social and environmental disruption. The next
largest energy source is coal-burning power plants, which account for about a third of
the total supply. Coal combustion is a principal source of greenhouse gas emissions.

Fortunately, used aluminum cans can be completely recycled into new metal. But in
the United States, more than half of all aluminum is used just once and tossed into the
trash. Currently, over 50 billion beverage cans are wasted in the United States every
year- that’s a quarter of a million tons of scrap metal valued at $750 million. Laid end
to end, these wasted cans would encircle the globe at the equator 153 times.

2. Effects on environment

(1) Advantages of recycling metal

- Reduces Air pollution and decreases land space

- Energy conservation

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- Economical benefits

Recycling steel is less expensive than making steel from virgin ores.
Recycling steel saves our environment 75% of overall energy. Steel also
reduces greenhouse gases which are given off during the stage of
processing. Recycling metal reduces the overall environmental pollution in our
environment by a large margin. Economical benefits in metal recycle whereby
the manufacturer does not have to make new materials from scratch. But, the
manufacturer uses recycled material from metal and then forms new metal
ready to be used. Jobs are created as more and more consumers recycle
metal products through the country.

(2) Disadvantages of recycling metal

- Usage of energy to recycle metal

- Degradation of some metals
- Contamination of metals
- Metals not sticking to magnets when separated in recycling process

All though manufacturers have successfully reduced the amount of energy

used by metals when recycling. Unfortunately, there still exists a portion of
energy which effects the environment. Some metals degrade in the process of
recycling such as aluminum. As aluminum is recycled and then reused it can
slowly degrade and that can affect the quality aluminum after the process of
recycling. In the process of recycling some metals need to be separated from
others at times aluminum may not stick to the magnet and cause a problem in
the final recycling process.

3. Future areas of research

VII. Practical tips

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- Buy products and supplies with less or reusable packaging.
- Bring lunches in reusable containers.
- Remember that the plastic bottles can be used more than once.
- Bring your own bags when go to market.
- Purchase the food products packaged by a packaging with recycle logo on it.
- Participate in the blue box recycling program to help save your environment
- Be an active member of Earth Can team to join their initiatives in saving our
planet
- Carbon paper, wax coated paper, juice boxes, tissue, thermal fax paper, fast
food wrappers can not be recycled unless there is a recycling note.

VIII. Policies, regulations

First of all, the food packaging is supposed to subject to the provisions of

Division 23 of the Food and Drug Regulations.

Then, the BPA usage is banned by National Research Development

Corporation (NRDC), because they believe that BPA still requires testing
related to environmental effects.

IX. References
[1] Linda Dunkelberger, "The History of Recycled Paper", articalbase.com,
June 24, 2009

[2] United States Environmental Protection Agency, "Background document

on clean product research and implementation", Kansas city star, October
1990

[3] Edward Chauncey Worden. Nitrocellulose industry. New York, Van

Nostrand, 1911, p. 568. (Parkes, English patent #2359 in 1855)

[4] "Truly Biodegradable Plastics Now Available", WasteWatch, August, 2008

[?] Earth answers, "How is paper recycled?",

http://www.tappi.org/paperu/all_about_paper/earth_answers/earthanswers_re
cycle.pdf

[1] Q.X. Fan, H. Ao. and C. Meng, “Life Cycle Assessment”, Environmental

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Science and Management, June 2007.

[2] "Wastes – Resource Conservation - Common Wastes & Materials - Paper

Recycling". US EPA

[3] "Recycle - Save Energy". South Carolina Electric & Gas Company. 1991.
Archived from the original on September 11, 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-20.

[4] Alvarez JV, Larrucea MA, Bermúdez PA and Chicote BL, “Biodegradation
of paper waste under controlled composting conditions”, Waste Management,
January 9, 2009

[5] EcoLogo Program, “Renewable Low Impact Electricity”, Environmental

Standard- Certification criteria document, June 30, 2010

[6] R. Sirinivasan, K. Sathiya and M. Palanisamy, “Experimental Investigation

in Developing Low Cost Concrete from Paper Industry Waste”, Bulletin of the
Polytechnic Institute of Jassy, Constructions, Architechture Section, vol. LVI
(LX), pp. 43-56, 2010

[7] Frances MacGuire, “Paper Recycling: Exposing the Myths (part1)”,

Friends of the Earth, November 1997

[8] Dr.-Ing. Heino Vest, “Environmental aspects of waste paper recycling”,

Technical Information E1e,1998

[9] Clean Water Action Council, Environmental Impacts of the Paper Industry,
http://www.cwac.net/paper_industry/index.html

[10] Guy Montague-Jones, "Elopak launches new eco friendly milk cartons",
FoodProductionDaily.com, October 7, 2010

[11] "Environmental Food Packaging", packaging-int.com, February 22,

2008

[12] Nefab group, "Advantages/Disadvantages of Returnable

Systems?",
http://www.nefab.com/Packaging_Information_Advantages_Why_Retur
nables.aspx, 2010

[13] Plastic Oceans Foundation, “Fourth Element are proud to support

the work of the Plastic Oceans Foundation”,
http://www.fourthelement.com/adventures/plastic_oceans.php

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[14] “Dangers of Plastics: Why you should reduce the amount of plastic you
use”, http://www.holistic-interior-designs.com/dangers-of-
plastics.html

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