Page 26 - Plastics News July 2020

How Covid-19 has shifted sustainable packaging perceptions

Since the start of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic, plastic bags at major stores in January and had planned
consumers and businesses have had to alter the way they to slash plastic waste completely in 2020, now expects to
view packaging health and safety, with the “war on see such waste rise by as much as 30 per cent. In
plastic” being put on hold to address these concerns Indonesia, 63,000 workers were recently laid off in the
recycling industry. Even the Bring Your Own (BYO)
Jessica Paige
movement started in Singapore in 2017, where
Early in the pandemic, uncertainty about how the virus consumers were urged to bring their own utensils to
spread meant that sustainability took a back seat. restaurants in the effort to reuse and recycle, has
Consumers were concerned that reusable packaging received a blow with global giants such as Starbucks
would increase the risk of transmission, and single-use doing away with their “Bring Your Own Cups” policy due
plastic began to return to the mainstream, despite to the pandemic.
having been acknowledged as environmentally It seemed that sustainability was being forgotten,
unfriendly and unsustainable.
however, research indicates that sustainability is still a
priority for consumers.

Increased demand for plastic packaging comes with
demand for recyclability

Plastic recycling expert Vanden Recycling UK MD David
Wilson told Packaging Gateway: “It seems clear that
there has been a partial shift in public attitude to
plastics during the pandemic. We're seeing ongoing
demand for plastic packaging and increased use in some
areas. “That, however, is also going hand-in-hand with
an expectation for the ability to recycle that packaging
and inclusion of recycled content. There's been no
reduction in demand for PET and HDPE for use in plastic
bottles and other polymers are also in demand for other
plastic packing applications. “For the moment it seems
that the public's antipathy towards plastic as a packaging
While health concerns were being researched and material has been set aside as they think about the
addressed, sustainability took a backseat.
safety and security of the goods they buy.” UK-based
In pre-coronavirus times, different nations had their own packaging company Amcor conducted research last
programmes to handle plastic waste. In countries such as month that highlighted the need for better recyclability.
Canada and the US, recycling of plastic is classified as The results of the company's research showed that
essential, although this is not practised universally. In consumers want to be better educated on recycling
India, we have the Plastic Waste Management Rules of practices and how to live more sustainably.
2016, which were updated and amended in 2018. In fact,
Concerns over the safety of reusable packaging subsiding
India saw incredible momentum in its fight for effective
management of plastic waste in the last year. The Prime At the end of last month, scientists from various
Minister made clarion calls for a jan andolan (people's countries signed a statement urging consumers to return
movement) to curb the use of SUP and to ensure proper to reusable packaging, declaring it safe to use. “The
disposal of all plastic waste. He led the way by Covid-19 global pandemic has triggered a discussion of
“plogging” — collecting plastic waste while jogging — on how to ensure the safety of reusable systems in a public
the Mamallapuram beach in Tamil Nadu. As recently as health crisis. Based on the best available science and
September-October 2019, the entire country rallied guidance from public health professionals, it is clear
together under the banner of the Swachhata Hi Seva that reusable systems can be used safely by employing
campaign, and people from all walks of life collected basic hygiene.” The statement explained that the virus
plastic waste from their surroundings and disposed of it is mostly spread through inhaling aerosolised droplets
suitably with the help of the local authorities. and not through contact with surfaces, and that
disposable products present similar issues to reusable
Today, the national, as well as the global momentum for
products.
plastic waste management, has been seriously
disrupted. Thailand, which had banned disposable Consumer demand for compostable packaging to replace

July 2020 26 Plastics News