Creation of Environmentally-Friendly Packaging

Environmentally-Friendly Packaging
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Environmentally-Friendly Packaging
Plastic is an essential part of the world's economy; however, it provides the biggest challenge for waste management and resource efficiency. Most plastics are made of fossil-based feedstocks and additives that give them numerous characteristics and material properties. Approximately 8,300 million tonnes of plastic have been produced, with 6,300 million tonnes generating plastic waste. Only 9% have been recycled for this waste, 12% incinerated and 79% leaked to the environment. Therefore, low rates of recycling and high levels of environmental leakage create challenges in waste management. Regulations are important to help develop frameworks that manage chemicals in a plastic product, such as complete bans or thresholds limiting toxins concentration. This essay is an analysis of how government agencies play a role in influencing environmentally friendly packaging.
Pressure from the government, public, and environmental advocacy groups has increased the awareness of environmentally friendly packaging. Consequently, manufacturers and advertisers are forced to adapt to new laws. Waste management policies can take numerous forms, such as banning plastic bags, which will enhance the economy. Such a policy will cause an uptick in business for reusable bag manufacturers, consequently increasing profits and employment opportunities CITATION Sha12 \l 1033 (Shirley, 2012). From the government's perspective, a ban on plastics will reduce the strain on tax payer's money. The collection of waste is an expensive affair for the government; therefore, the ban will help in redirecting the income to other important areas.
Numerous challenges diminish attempts to implement waste management policies. Eliminating plastic bags helps reduce the cost of goods for stores and consumers. Stores and distributors have to factor in the cost of packaging when coming up with the final retail prices. While this is ben...