Fact sheets

Incpen – Why Packaging
Without packaging, much food and many goods would be damaged or spoiled before they got to us. In less developed countries without the sophisticated distribution and packaging systems that we have in the UK, as much as 50% of food never reaches consumers… Download the pdf

Incpen – Carbon Footprinting and Lifecycle Assessment
Lifecycle assessment (LCA) quantifies the environmental burdens associated with a product, process or activity over its entire lifecycle, from production of the raw materials to disposal at end of life… Download the pdf

Incpen – What Lifecycle Assessment and Carbon measurement Can and Can't Do
Many assumptions have to be made in carrying out a lifecycle assessment (LCA). The results are never precise or consistent enough to enable comparisons to be made between alternative products. Carbon footprinting is a subset of a full LCA… Download the pdf

Incpen – Excessive Packaging
Packaging ensures that people can buy and use products when they want them, in good condition and with little wastage. However, many people think there is too much of it. Everybody has a view on what’s excessive… Download the pdf

Incpen – Recycled Content
Recycled materials should only be used in packaging when this provides an overall environmental benefit. Often this is the case, but sometimes it isn’t. This paper explains why not… Download the pdf

Packaging Federation – The Paradox of Packaging
It has to be said, packaging gets a lot of bad press. Whether it’s plastic bags at
supermarkets or over-packaged items using an array of plastic and cardboard, most
people have a pet hate linked to packaging… Download the pdf

Packaging Federation/Incpen – Packaging facts and figures
Of the total energy used in the food chain, 50% is used in food production, 10% on
transport to the shops and retailing, 10% to make the packaging and the remaining 30%
used by shoppers to drive to the shops and store and cook food… Download the pdf

Packaging Federation – The UK Packaging Manufacturing Industry
– a brief for MPs and Peers
Our industry employs some 85,000 people in the UK – representing 3% of the UK manufacturing industry workforce – and has sales in excess of £10 Billion… Download the pdf

Packaging Federation – Packagingand the Environment
A PowerPoint presentation highlighting the “Inconvenient Truths” of packaging. Download the presentation

Packaging Federation – Science and Innovation in Packaging
A PowerPoint presentation highlighting the “Inconvenient Truths” of packaging. Download the presentation

Advisory Committee on Packaging – Packaging in Perspective
This publication has been produced to provide facts about the much discussed
subject of packaging recovery and recycling. It aims to provide the public and
others with an outline of what the UK has achieved and what is being done. It is not generally recognised that businesses… Download the pdf

Incpen – Environmental Impact of Packaging in the UK Food Supply System
Packaging for food and drink is used to make sure the contents get from the farm or the sea to people’s plates in good condition. It is just one part of the food supply system and cannot be considered in isolation. Over two thirds of packaging is used for food but… Download the pdf

Incpen – Packaging fact sheet
Packaging plays a valuable role in protecting goods. Packaging is what gets the pea from the farm onto your plate, the TV from the factory into your living room. Industry has an interest in keeping packaging to a minimum – to reduce costs as well as to comply with the packaging laws… Download the pdf

Incpen – Litter fact sheet
Litter is any waste in the wrong place. Individuals create litter through thoughtless or anti-social behaviour. Only individuals can therefore prevent it… Download the pdf

Incpen – Waste Management fact sheet
Waste comes from all types of activity and is more than just household rubbish. Used packaging is between 15% and 25% by weight of household dustbin waste. Household waste is 88% of municipal waste, which in turn is 8% of the total solid waste produced in the UK… Download the pdf

Incpen – What you need to know about packaging and waste
Information for consumers on recovering and recycling used packaging… Download the pdf

Incpen – Packaging Essential Requirements Regulations
These notes have been produced by LACORS and INCPEN  to aid businesses and local trading standards authorities. Their purpose is to offer preliminary guidance on complying with the new… Download the pdf

Incpen – Packaging in the supply chain
The amount of packaging used in the UK has increased by less than 4% since 1999 (8.5 to 8.8 million tonnes, in 2004 – excluding wood)… Download the pdf

Incpen – Packaging Reduction – Doing more with less
Western consumers buy food and goods when they want them, in good condition and with little wastage. In less developed economies, up to half of all food is spoilt before it reaches consumers. In western Europe and the USA the figure is under 3%. The difference is largely due to modern distribution and packaging systems… Download the pdf

Incpen – Responsible Packaging – Code of Practice for optimising packaging and minimising waste
The Responsible Packaging Code of Practice is a welcome contribution to improving packaging designed and used in the UK. The Code addresses both environmental concerns and consumer needs… Download the pdf

Incpen – Understanding Packaging
This summary is based on a report published by the UK Centre for Economics & Environmental Development (UK CEED), a charitable research institute, following independent research into packaging. It was commissioned by INCPEN (the Industry Council for Packaging & the Environment), the body set up in 1974 to research the environmental and social impacts of packaging… Download the pdf

Packaging Federation – Putting “packaging” into context – Seven packaging “pillars of wisdom”
The primary role of packaging is to protect and preserve the product. Reducing packaging may increase product wastage and reduce product hygiene – with environmental impacts much greater than that of the packaging “saved”… Download the pdf

Packaging Federation – The Role of Packaging in Society
A PowerPoint presentation highlighting the role of modern packaging in society. Download the presentation

Packaging is not just about having too much
Two short videos about the importance of packaging. Courtesy of Elipso.
Download video 1 (File size 9.5MB)
Download video 2 (File size 6MB)

The Shopper's Nightmare
A video about how we can't manage without packaging. Courtesy of Tetrapak.
Download the video (File size 35MB)

Incpen – Why products are packaged the way they are
The average household in the UK buys over 4,000 items of food and other
products every year. In the UK as a whole, 25 million households buy over 100
billion items every year. Over 75% of those purchases are grocery products –
mainly food and drink but also household detergents, paper products, cosmetics,
toiletries, nappies and pet food. Download the pdf

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