THE BEST PACKAGING WASTE IS THE ONE THAT DOES NOT EXIST.

THEREFORE, THE MAIN DUTY OF ALL CONSUMERS IS RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION

We all like new things and enjoy them for their appearance, quality or because they meet our needs. We first check if the packaging of groceries we are about to buy is not torn or damaged. Both we and many institutions whose job is to protect consumer rights and ensure compliance with hygiene standards impose great demands on both consumer and food items. However, do we ever pause to think about how packaging ensures a marketable appearance? For instance, breakfast cereal is packaged in a bag so that its flakes do not lose their shape, the bag is placed in a box to protect it from opening, the boxes are packed in larger boxes so that they are not bent, and finally these larger boxes are stacked with other boxes, usually reinforced with a sheet, placed on a wooden pallet, and transported in containers. Only the container can be reused many times; all the other packaging is intended to be used only once!

NATURE DOES NOT NEED HUMANS, HUMANS DO NEED NATURE

All the problems facing the world and their solutions are grouped into 17 goals, 169 tasks and 230 primary indicators (these are being improved and adapted). The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, by recognizing that each country has a different level of development, resources and opportunities, is a universal plan under which no person is left behind, irrespective of their unique problems (disability, exclusion, poverty, etc.) and capabilities to achieve these goals.

It aims to use resources in an efficient way and decouple economic growth from resource depletion. It calls for economies to create (produce) more with fewer resources – deliver greater value with less input, to use resources in a sustainable way and minimise their impacts on the environment.

In line with the Sustainable Development Goals, economic, social and environmental aspects are regulated in a comprehensive and integrated manner.

The overall strategic goal of sustainable development is to reconcile the environmental protection, economic and social development interests, ensure a clean and healthy environment, efficient use of natural resources, overall economic prosperity for society, and strong social guarantees during the strategy implementation period based on economic, social and natural resource efficiency indicators and within the environmental pollution limits set by the EU, and to implement the requirements of international conventions limiting environmental pollution and the impact on the global climate.

In order to meet our needs and improve our quality of life, we consumers have to take into account several critical aspects. First of all, each person belongs to a large ecosystem (“we are part of the Earth and the Earth is part of us”) – a system in which elements of inanimate nature and wildlife coexist, interact and share energy in a given area. This ecosystem is where vital natural cycles (such as water, oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide) take place and complex feeding relations occur. This means that, on the one hand, every element is vital and necessary. On the other hand, humans are fully dependent on their environment (“Earth does not belong to man; man belongs to Earth”). The explanation of this statement is simple – nature does not need humans, humans do need nature.

Sustainable consumption. This concept is specifically related to the environment in which goods and services are purchased. Sustainable consumption allows us to save more resources and better protect the environment. It is a type of consumption when the use of natural resources is reduced by choosing only those products or services that are truly necessary and by focusing on extending the life cycle of an item whether through recycling or its subsequent reuse. If we examine the waste management pyramid more closely and compare it with the pillars of sustainable development, we will notice that they are closely linked. Proper packaging management is a significant contribution towards the achievement of sustainable development goals and the creation of a “greener” community.

THE PYRAMID OF A GREENER OFFICE BASED ON SUSTAINABILITY PRINCIPLES

Sustainability means an aim to produce as many products as possible with minimal raw materials and, without reducing the volume of production, to use as little energy as possible while rationally assessing the consumption needs and their impact on the environment.

By making changes at the community level we will achieve much better results. Through proper management of packaging waste we will be able to reduce landfilling and save energy and raw materials used during the production of packaging.

The Sustainable Development Strategy specifies three inseparable pillars of sustainable development in the sphere of waste management:

I THE ENVIRONMENTAL PILLAR

Responsible consumption

Waste reduction

II THE SOCIAL PILLAR

Waste reuse

Waste recycling

III THE ECONOMIC PILLAR

Use of waste for energy generation

Landfilling of waste