LIGHTWEIGHT PLASTIC PACKAGING
The culture that is based on convenience and disposable products is the primary cause of plastic soup. About 40% of the plastic used is plastic packaging that is light, material that is used just once for about 20 minutes before it is tossed into the trash. A lot of plastic that is discarded gets dumped into the ocean. It is a result of products manufactured by multinational corporations. The solution has to be sourced from them. The issue of the plastic soup cannot be solved unless they involvement. One of the promises multinational corporations have made in the past was to lighten its packaging weight.
LIGHTWEIGHT PLASTIC DOES NOT HELP
The weight reduction of plastic packaging doesn’t alter the probability of it ending at sea. If lighter packaging is disposed of in the environment after use, it will, in ,actuality be broken into smaller pieces much faster than those that are thicker and more durable. However, that’s not the only problem arising from the apparent good intentions of businesses to decrease its packaging’s weight. If there is less plastic in each package — for instance, thinner PET water bottles, it doesn’t mean the manufacturer will make use of less plastic overall. In fact, since these companies are trying to expand their sales, the amount of packaging units is likely to rise.
The main issue here is due to small-sized packages. In the countries where consumers are lower purchasing power, companies such as Unilever and Danone offer small-sized packages that contain only a tiny amount of the item (e.g. shampoo or body wash washing powder, coffee or shampoo) inside. Whatever the product, in the end, there will be much more packaging material employed compared to when bigger or bulk sizes of products are employed, even though it’s a lightweight plastic. To reduce the amount of plastic in plastic usage, it’s vital to switch to a system where the customer brings their own reusable container with them to the store to refill it.
ANALYSIS BY BRAND
It is easy to determine which multinationals contribute most to the soup of plastic. When you see pieces of garbage in the sewer or on the beach, take an eye on the brand of the container. This analysis was conducted this year on a much larger scale the brand Audit Report analysed brands that were based on 239 clean-ups of litter across 42 countries. The top three brands to be cited in terms of plastic pollution included Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Nestle. Greenpeace looked into the amount of single-use packaging that was sold by the 11 most polluting brands. It was discovered that the brands selling the most items were the same ones who had the most items found during cleanups of litter. The report also included the following recommendations for multinational corporations:
Set annual reduction goals for plastic packaging, with the goal of eliminating all plastic packaging.
Be completely transparent in relation to the amount of plastic that is used and not only per product.
Get rid of problematic and unneeded plastics, such as mini-packages immediately.
Make sure you recycle containers and bottles and develop the required logistics.
