Material efficiency in Dutch packaging policy

Packaging materials are one of the largest contributors to municipal solid waste generation. In this paper, we evaluate the material impacts of packaging policy in The Netherlands, focusing on the role of material efficiency (or waste prevention). Since 1991, five different policies have been implemented to reduce the environmental impact of packaging. The analysis shows that Dutch packaging policies helped to reduce the total packaging volume until 1999. After 2000, packaging consumption increased more rapidly than the baseline, suggesting that policy measures were not effective. Generally, w... Mehr ...

Verfasser: Worrell, Ernst
van Sluisveld, Mariësse A. E
Dokumenttyp: Artikel
Erscheinungsdatum: 2013
Reihe/Periodikum: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences ; volume 371, issue 1986, page 20110570 ; ISSN 1364-503X 1471-2962
Verlag/Hrsg.: The Royal Society
Schlagwörter: General Physics and Astronomy / General Engineering / General Mathematics
Sprache: Englisch
Permalink: https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-26668617
Datenquelle: BASE; Originalkatalog
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Link(s) : http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2011.0570

Packaging materials are one of the largest contributors to municipal solid waste generation. In this paper, we evaluate the material impacts of packaging policy in The Netherlands, focusing on the role of material efficiency (or waste prevention). Since 1991, five different policies have been implemented to reduce the environmental impact of packaging. The analysis shows that Dutch packaging policies helped to reduce the total packaging volume until 1999. After 2000, packaging consumption increased more rapidly than the baseline, suggesting that policy measures were not effective. Generally, we see limited attention to material efficiency to reduce packaging material use. For this purpose, we tried to gain more insight in recent activities on material efficiency, by building a database of packaging prevention initiatives. We identified 131 alterations to packaging implemented in the period 2005–2010, of which weight reduction was the predominant approach. More appropriate packaging policy is needed to increase the effectiveness of policies, with special attention to material efficiency.