Executive Summary
Environmental sustainability is a state within which the needs of humans are met or demands placed on the environment can be met without jeopardizing or affecting the future generation’s environmental demands. Sustainability refers to the environments ability to meet demands over a period of time without its resources getting depleted. In recent times ensuring sustainability has been a key topic of discussion mostly because the barriers to sustainability have increased. Some of these barriers include pollution.
According to Genpak, (2014), environmental pollution has led to global warming whose effects are making it harder for the environment to sustain itself and it requires human interference to help manage this barrier. A possible solution to this barrier is the use of biodegradable packaging to replace use of paper bags and other materials that just sit in the soil without degrading leading to accumulation of wastes that then results in soil pollution. Biodegradable packaging is the use of biodegradable matter such as plant matter, animal matter or an artificial material that can be broken down by microorganisms found in the environment. The biodegradable matter should also be compostable so as to enrich the soil as it degrades.
This study evaluates methods that can be employed to manage pollution as a barrier to sustainability. It also conducts research by use of questionnaires to determine if using biodegradable packaging is the solution to environmental pollution which will then result in a more sustainable environment. This study uses an ethnographic study on the local community. The target group for the study is young adults to the older generations who are avid shoppers and buy most of their commodities packaged in plastic bags.
The target sample will be selected through simple random sampling method this will ensure that all members of the population are well represented and this gives a more conclusive statistical data collection. Since the research will be based on handing out questionnaires the sample size for the study is small. All subjects were handed the same questionnaire that contains fourteen questions. The research lasts for a limited duration of time, and to cover the whole sample size it is scheduled to last a month.
It was found that use of biodegradable packaging in one retail store reduces the amount of waste in the community significantly by 29%.Stores that have adopted this form of packaging insist that although the packaging material is more expensive than use of non-degradable materials it promotes the stores principles on environmental sustainability and draws in many environmental conservationists as customers. Use of biodegradable packaging will increase sustainability by 35% by the year 2030 if it is employed worldwide (Gilson, 2009).
Introduction
The main aim of environmental sustainability program is to have an engineered system that works to support the wellbeing of human beings while at the same time supporting the natural environment system. The program provides services on environment and ecology so as to ensure human survival. Rehm, (2009), green engineering is one of the research areas that are aimed at improving environmental sustainability. Green engineering is the manufacture of environmentally friendly products to replace environment degrading products. This is the case with the manufacture of biodegradable packaging. Research in this field seeks to restore ecological function to the natural system.
The packaging should break down within a relatively short period after it has been disposed of. This prevents accumulation of wastes in landfills and it also works to prevent the burning of these non-biodegradable products that release harmful gases into the environment causing air pollution. So far there has been a debate on whether or not the biodegradable packaging products really degrade within a shorter time and companies that manufacture non-biodegradable packaging products have argued that materials tend to be preserved without being degraded in a landfill even if they are organic (Genpak, 2014). It has also been argued that the general public is not of the opinion that use of biodegradable packaging products is the solution to overcoming the barrier of pollution in environmental sustainability.
This research paper seeks to find out if these arguments contain any truth in them. It analyses the opinions of people living in areas where environmental pollution is at its highest, those of environmentalists who only shop in ecofriendly shops and also those of customers who do not give a thought as to what material is used to make their packaging or what happens to it after. It presents statistics on how efficient biodegradable packaging is and it will use this analysis to determine the effectiveness of biodegradable packaging.
Literature Review
Natural polymers are products from renewable resources that are able to completely biodegrade on their own given the choice of the environment. Natural plastics used to make packaging products are made from natural polymers got from living animals, plants and algae. Algae for example are used to make paper using cellulose. These are made by modifying their chemical and physical properties (Stevens, 2002).
The packaging products are polyesters that are made by a wide range of microbes that have been cultured under different nutrient Medias and environmental conditions (Huisman, &, Madison, 1999).They are lipid polymers that are usually accumulated in cells as storage materials they benefit the microorganism by allowing it to survive under stress. It is yet to be studied on whether these biodegradable packaging can degrade in landfills. Rehm, (2009), things put in a landfill rarely degrade and if these did then they would do so producing a greenhouse gas, Methane that is 30 times to the environment than CO2 (Gilson, 2009). However, they are able to degrade on being disposed and they can turn into compost, humus or even water.
Genpak the multinational packaging company argues on its website that just because a packaging product is listed as organic does not necessarily mean that it is biodegradable. It insists on making reusable packaging products as opposed to having them made to be biodegradable and they state that these biodegradable products do not decompose at a fast rate or as is expected and the duration of time for degrading varies greatly depending on environmental conditions. Gilson also raises concern that broken down plastics are more harmful than intact ones because when they are in small pieces it makes it easier to form hurdles which are pellets formed from degraded plastics in the ocean and this leads to them being taken up in human food causing health related complications.
Primary Research Analysis
The research using the questionnaires showed that 42% of the population does not trust using the biodegradable packaging as they do not understand how they are manufactured.70% of them raised concerns that they feared they would be affected by the microorganisms used in their manufacture while the other 30% cited there not being enough research on the subject as the main reason for distrust. 28% of the total sample population showed little concern for the packaging product as long as it was approved as safe and they did not concern themselves with what happened to the packaging after they had used the product. They however stated that they found the biodegradable products a bit more expensive than those wrapped in non-degradable material. They declared that there are specific biodegradable products that have impact resistance and tensile strength and they preferred these over other packaging products. 30% of the sample size was found to be in support of biodegradable packaging because they reduce pollution and overall environmental stability and sustainability.
It is projected that a new breed of bio-plastics will catch on and drives the packaging market demand. Smithers predicts that the packaging industry would remain as the fastest growing market segment and statistics show that it is increasing at a rate of 5% annually inters of value. The questionnaires' from the sample population show that people are gaining awareness on the benefits of using biodegradable products and this means that sale of things with this packaging is expected to go up and rise very quickly by 2024 (Pira, 2014).The detailed trends in the market for the end use product sectors such as food and beverage and also trends in demand for packaging all point to a possible activity in value-added packaging. The packaging global market is predicted to reach 1.1 trillion dollars and it is expected to grow at the rate of 3.4% over a decade.
The rise in the use and market value of the packaging product runs concurrently with the rise in environmental sustainability. A large percentage of the sample size found that use of biodegradable packaging products would have a direct influence on the environment making it clean, more enriched and more sustainable. The analysis also found that there was a relationship between lifestyle, social influences and also people’s attitude towards adoption of the fast paced lifestyle exposes the people to use of non-degradable packaging material.
The people were more concerned with convenience over the impact or repercussions of this. People will more likely buy a product with non-biodegradable packaging product than travel a long distance to a different store to buy the same product in biodegradable packaging product. A clear example of this is shown by the amount of take-out containers and coffee cups that are disposed of everyday and most of these are not even biodegradable (Pira, 2014). The questionnaires were handed out to a well selected sample population so the questionnaire results were not biased and they represented a wide range of people. Plastic pollution has become a major problem for the city areas and also the local remote locations. Estimates show that the average American consumer produces half a pound of plastic waste every day. The effects of this on the environment are being felt slowly.
Conclusion
Awareness on the harmful effects of plastic packaging products is being raised as more and more people are being asked to use the biodegradable packaging products .Successful studies that have been done have affirmed that use of petroleum free chemicals would then result better ways to sustain the environment by not destroying it. Through the use of raw materials positively and efficiently help the world end pollution and gets rid of toxins that are found in the environment (Stevens, 2002). People are being convinced to only buy items that have been labeled organic as these are safe to for the environment. Currently very few companies are in the manufacturing of biodegradable products on large scale and for commercial bank. Although we estimate a lot more growth than the rest of the packaging products in the coming years, unfortunately they are not found in areas that are only a tiny fraction of the whole foods to be proving. The problem and the solution find each other during the interactions and this would help to reduce the barrier of environmental sustainability.
The study found that more people side with the easy to go bad decision such as take out tins compared to looking for a place that packs food in environment friendly video that you did not get to open. Transparency market research found a good bed based global synthetic and biological made with biodegradable plastics market. There has also been a rise in the number of people and strategies employed to promote biodiversity and also to ensure clean cooking by selecting the clean biodegradable sign ousted and it is also used in place of the unhealthy Brandon (Stevens, 2002). Over the years there has been an increase in the number of eco-friendly materials this increase has promoted the wearing of environmentally conscious suits and the use of biodegradable materials such as material used to carry cups.
Biodegradable plastics can be custom made to meet our specific demands and also it can be used as a gate pass for the event. Environmental pollution is a major barrier to development and sustainability on the growth of environmentally friendly materials and also in the fight against climate change that is brought about by changes in the environment framework for example introduction degradable wastes ensures that there is none or little hills of dirt place somewhere. It also prevents the release of greenhouse gases that are toxic and their prolonged use causes changes in the climate of a place. The main issue is to have a sustainable form where non-biodegrade plastics could be replaced by the bio-degradable plastics, which do not compromise the state and aesthetics of the environment. In addition, environment conservation should remain a core issue when it comes to production of plastics.
Strategy Draft
So as to ensure success in use of biodegradable packaging product awareness campaigns have to be conducted throughout the regions. These help give information to the population that is not aware that there is an alternative to the main idea. Both degradable and compostable are different and people expect that biodegradable means they disappear into small particles but what it means is they are broken down into components that can be absorbed by other microorganism for example they can be broken down into water and nutrients. The questionnaires were each distributed to the sample population at the same time, this ensured very little chance of bias or answers being influenced by other outside sources. The sample population is in categories based on age groups with the younger generation being more concerned about keeping the environment clean and free from pollutants.
References
Genpak, M. (2014). What Biodegradable and Compostable Really Mean. 06 march 2016 <http;//www.genpak.com>.
Gilson, D. (2009). "Do Biodegradable Plastics Really Work?" Mother Jones.
Huisman, L.. L. &, Madison G. W. (1999). "Metabolic Engineering of Poly(3-Hydroxyalkanoates): From DNA to Plastic." Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews.
Pira, S. (2014). "The Future of Packaging: Long Term Strategic Forecasts to 2024."
Rehm, B. (2009). Microbial Production of Biopolymers and Polymer Precursors: Applications and Perspectives. Horizon Scientific Press.
Stevens, E. S.(2002). Green Plastics: An Introduction to the New Science of Biodegradable Plastics. princeton university press, 2002.
Interview Questions
What packaging do you use at home (Biodegradable, non-biodegradable, both)
Is the government doing enough to encourage the use of biodegradable packaging materials? (yes, no)
What packaging materials does your nearest supermarket use? (Biodegradable, non-biodegradable, both)
Are you aware of some incentives that promote safe disposals in your neighborhood? (yes, no)
How do you dispose plastics papers and bags? (In the dustbin, throw away)
Are you aware of any safety standards to the waste paper management?(yes, no)
Are you aware of punitive actions against haphazard disposal of waste bags? (yes, no)
Do you know the impacts of pollution to the environment? (yes, no)
Are a you champion for environmental cleanliness through safe disposal( Yes, no)
Who do you think should pioneer the fight against Non-degradable packing materials ( Government, Companies, Citizens, all)
Do you believe that the fight against non-biodegradable packaging is a success (Yes, No, somehow)
Should new policies be fostered against using bio-degradable packaging materials (Yes, no)
