Max’s Essay On Sustainable Packaging

Here is an extract of the excellent essay done by Max in grade 12 which focuses on sustainable packaging and how it can benefit both your community and the planet as a whole.

Why do we need Sustainable Packaging? 

From the Arctic to the Antarctic, from the deepest trenches of the Mariana to the highest peaks of Everest, and from the deltas of British Columbia* to the savannas of South Africa, plastics and microplastics wreak havoc on all of these ecosystems. Many of these pollutants can be linked back to single-use packaging, with Statista* estimating 31% of plastic use going towards said packaging, which is by far the biggest consumer. Plastic pollution from leaching, single-use packaging has caused near-irreversible damage to both local and international ecosystems.  

As well as the impact on our external environment, a further important point, and often unknown to the consumer, is that non-renewable plastic packaging also has medical implications, commonly being carcinogenic*; sustainable packaging would mitigate this. Many plastic containers and bags are synthesised with either polyethylene (PE) or polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which are commonly linked to endocrine and neurological diseases in humans*; equally harmful is Bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical that lines the inside of cans* that has the same hormonal-disruptor effects as PEs.

To read the rest of this insightful piece, please click this link!

-Above image by Charity