II THE SOCIAL PILLAR

The Social Pillar means ensuring the long-term social well-being in society or the social system. A socially cohesive scheme must ensure equity, the provision of adequate health and education and other social services, gender equality, political accountability and engagement.

End poverty in all its forms everywhere.

Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.

Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.

Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all

Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages.

Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.

Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.

End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.

Waste Reuse

Packaging means a returnable or non-returnable product that can be made of any materials and is used to package, protect, handle, transport and present to consumers or users various items, from raw materials to processed products.

Packaging waste means any packaging or packaging material covered by the definition of waste, excluding packaging production waste.

Packaging reuse is possible only if its features and characteristics are known and if packages are separated according to such characteristics.

The number of packages needed for items and food usually depends on the method of transportation. If we could make this trip shorter, we could reduce the number of packages. In order to better understand the benefits, we must first learn about the packages and their types.

Types Of Packaging

It is usually not very difficult to separate one type of packaging from another on the basis of the material it is made of. Bottles are usually made of glass or plastic, sweet boxes are made of paper, grocery bags are made of plastic, cans are metal, and juice or milk packages are multi-layered, made of several materials. However, packages are also separated by using additional criteria.

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Sales packaging or primary packaging. This is the type of packaging in which the product is packed. The packaging is usually separated before the product is used and then remains empty. If the primary packaging is damaged, the product contained inside is usually damaged too (such as a water bottle, bread bag or package of biscuits).

Grouped packaging or secondary packaging. This is packaging that groups several identical products and that can be removed without damaging the primary packaging. Examples of such packaging are water bottles wrapped in plastic film, reusable plastic beverage boxes, a box of chewing gum packets.

Transport Packaging Or Tertiary

PACKAGING. This is packaging that facilitates the transportation of packaged products and protects them from damage. Examples of such packaging are wooden pallets as well as the plastic film used to wrap a group of products during their transport on pallets.

PACKAGES BASED ON COMPOSITION:

Simple packaging. This is packaging made of one kind of material such as glass, plastic, metal or paper.

Combination or multi-layer packaging. This is packaging made up of different materials that cannot be separated one from another by hand. Examples of such packaging include a coffee pack made by fusing plastic and metal foil, milk or juice cartons made by fusing paper, plastic and foil.

Composite packaging. This is packaging made up of different materials that can be separated from one another by hand. Examples of such packaging include a sweet box made of paper and covered with a plastic film to protect it from scratching.

PACKAGING BASED ON ITS TYPE OF USE:

One-way packaging. This is packaging that is intended for one-time use and is then discarded, such as disposable cups and glasses or glass bottles.

Reusable packaging. This is packaging that can be used more than once, such as beverage barrels or plastic containers that are washed and refilled.

BASED ON THE MATERIAL FROM WHICH IT IS MADE:

Glass containers. Glass is most often used to make various bottles and jars. Depending on the materials added during production, glass containers can be of various colours, the most common being colourless, green and brown. Glass is a highly environmentally friendly raw material because it is 100% recyclable and can be recycled an unlimited number of times without loss in quality. If a glass container is made from crushed glass, approximately 35% less energy is needed and water and air pollution is reduced by 50%: by recycling 1000 tons of glass the amount of CO2 released into the atmosphere is lower by 315 kg as compared to a production process using new raw materials.

Plastic packaging. Is one of the most popular types of packaging currently in use. Because of its durability, this material is used to package the most diverse products, from groceries to household products, electronic goods, etc.

PET (polyethylene terephthalate). Is one of the most recyclable plastics. PET is most often used to produce plastic beverage bottles because this material is both very light as well as strong and resistant. Up to 3.8 barrels of oil are saved by recycling one ton of plastic bottles.

Paper (cardboard) packaging. Such packaging is mostly used for parcels transported over short distances: shopping bags, sweet boxes, envelopes, cardboard boxes, etc. All writing paper that we use (magazines, newspapers, books, etc.) also belongs to this category. Cardboard boxes are used to protect items during transportation. Secondary packaging is very often made of cardboard. However, paper is made from cellulose, which is obtained by cutting down trees. About 40 % of paper pulp is derived from wood. 35% of all felled trees are used to make paper; however, by recycling 1 ton of paper we can save 1-2 tons of wood, i.e. for every ton of recycled paper or cardboard 17 trees can be saved as well as about 26,500 litres of water and enough energy to heat an average-sized house for 6 months. Paper can be recycled up to 8 times.

Wooden packaging. Wooden packaging is rarely used by private individuals: wooden pallets or boxes are mostly used for the transportation of goods, while the wooden packaging that reaches us consists of containers for beverages, sweets or fruits as well as tea boxes. Almost every shipment contains packages made of this material. Wooden packaging is usually made from raw wood. Because of its durability, it is often used more than once. Broken packaging is repaired or remade, and when it is no longer usable, it is burned to generate energy.

Metal packaging. Metal packaging is mostly made from aluminium and steel. It is used in both retail and wholesale trade and comes in various sizes and shapes. Metal packaging can be recycled endlessly, and it can go from end use to brand new packaging in the hands of the consumer in as little as 60 days. Recycled aluminium is melted down and becomes a useful raw material again – this allows up to 95% of energy to be saved in the production process.

Composite or multilayer packaging. Is made of different materials that cannot be separated from one another by hand or by using simple physical means. Plastic-based composite packaging is usually made of layers of plastic and aluminium. It is very strong and durable, and it ensures maximum protection for the product against external influences. Examples of such packaging are coffee bags, ice cream containers, and bags of chips made of layers of plastic and aluminium.

Composite packaging primarily made from paper. These packs, such as juice and milk cartons (Tetra Pak), are very familiar to us. Cardboard composite beverage cartons are made of layers of paper (about 74%), plastic (about 22%) and aluminium (about 4%), which protect the liquids contained in the packaging.

Other packaging. This type of packaging contains materials that are not used in the 8 main packaging categories. Examples of other packaging include bags made of fabric or jute as well as ceramic or clay vessels used as product packaging.

Based on EU legislation, it has been laid down that the labelling of packages (indicating the source materials from which the packaging is made) is no longer mandatory but optional. Such labelling is still common on packages.

Responsibilities of consumers (both the office and each employee individually can be designated as a waste holder):

Waste holders must separate packaging waste from other waste, that is, they must carry out sorting of packaging waste at the place of their generation.

Consumers and holders of packaging waste generated in the municipal waste stream must make use of the organized packaging and packaging waste management schemes.

Fun fact: disposable containers are deemed to be packaging only when used for transport and purchased from operators selling food or beverages (who pay a fee for them to the relevant authorities). When we buy disposable containers for individual use at home or in the office, they are not considered packaging and cannot end up in containers intended for separate waste collection.