How far can the weight go?

Lightweighting is not the definitive answer to the environmental problems associated with packaging, but it can certainly help. Any product that cannot be fully recycled should be made as light as possible. Reducing landfill (along with carbon footprint) is the latest challenge facing the packaging industry. Regardless of its weight, a non-recyclable lightweight product will still be disposed of in a landfill; a heavy but recyclable product does not have this problem. Although Coca-Cola has just reduced the weight of its cans by 5%, will consumers notice the change? Does it make that much difference? 5% is equivalent to a reduction of around 0.005 mm in the width of a can that can already be recycled.

A real example of lightweight packaging making a difference can be seen in the way milk is packaged. UK retailers are now starting to sell milk in bags instead of bottles, which significantly reduces the weight of the packaging and, more importantly, the bags can be recycled. However, it remains to be seen if UK buyers will accept the change. In Canada, where the technology was developed more than 30 years ago, 60 percent of fresh milk is now sold in bags.

The challenge is to develop new packaging materials that will revolutionize the industry, but before that happens, consumers must be prepared to accept a change in the way products are packaged. The UK shopping culture leads us to buy ‘traditional’ packaged goods and we tend to dread anything new. Coca-Cola took a leap of faith to offer an alternative to its iconic glass bottles when it introduced lightweight plastic bottles, what we need now is a similar approach. Instead of making things lighter, the industry must develop alternative forms of packaging that are 100% recyclable and preferably reusable.