PETpla.net Insider 05 / 2020

PACKAGING / PALLETISING PETplanet Insider Vol. 21 No. 05/20 www.petpla.net 16 So why is the glass bottle currently celebrating a comeback in Austria’s supermarkets? It is often generally assumed that glass bottles are ecologically more sustainable, and in the end meas- ures are taken that are effective in terms of advertising but do more harm than good to the environment. Other reasons are the better image of glass in the population and higher sales vol- umes associated with it. As already mentioned, transport routes have a major influence on the sense and nonsense of packaging. “Multi-use is ecologically the most sensible option for beverage packag- ing if the bottles go through many refills and the distances between bottler and consumer are as short as possible,” says a statement on the website of the Austrian supermarket chain Spar. According to the Swiss analysis, however, refillable glass bottles no longer make ecological sense if they are transported 230km or more. In general, it is important to choose the best type of packaging in accordance with the type of beverage and con- sumption (at home or on the road), and larger containers are more environ- mentally friendly than smaller ones (1.5 vs. 0.5 l) due to the content/packaging ratio. Fruit and vegetables – how organic are bioplastic bags? Another area in which the trade sector is renouncing the use of plastic is fruit and vegetables. Many types of fruit and vegetables such as bananas or avocados don’t even need to be packed separately, their hard skin allows for them to be transported in the shopping trolley without the need for produce bags. The familiar produce bag made of thin plastic is increasingly being replaced by single-use alterna- tives that are often labelled “organic” or “eco”. The good news first: most of these bags carry the label “Ok compost Home” and are therefore suitable for consumers’ own compost heap. Furthermore, they are composta- ble according to the norm EN 13432, which means that they decompose in an industrial composting plant after 3 months to a large extent. Because these composting plants usually cannot distinguish between com- postable and conventional films, and because the operators fear for the quality of the compost, these “organic” bags are usually sorted out and end up in the residual waste – just like conven- tional plastic bags. And organic bags do not belong in the yellow bin or in the yellow sack either, as their composition varies greatly (Fig. 1): Biodegradable plastics can be bio- based, but they don’t have to be. The “organic” bags examined here consist at least in part of renewable raw mate- rials such as wood, potatoes or sugar cane, which require land, water and in most cases fertilisers and pesticides for their cultivation (although Rewe emphasises that only industrial waste is used in the production of the “eco” bag). However, some of the sacks still partly consist of fossil raw materials, which explain the aforementioned con- cerns about compost quality. Of course, that much eco-friendli- ness is not exactly cheap – the change from conventional bags to “organic” bags creates additional costs (about 3 euro cent a piece), which in most cases have to be borne by the con- sumer. In addition to the single-use produce bags, Rewe and Spar also offer washable reusable nets for sale in packs of three, with the weight of the nets being deducted at checkout. Rewe offers a cellulose net made of woodbased fibres, Spar a plastic net made of polyester. The advantage of cellulose nets is that they cannot shed microplastics during washing; however, it must be taken into account that raw materials have to be cultivated for their production and again chemicals (cook- ing liquor) are used. Summary Every packaging material pollutes the environment – there is no vari- ant without significant disadvantages. However, a few general recommenda- tions can be derived:  The multiple use of carrier bags makes sense and is rightly encour- aged. Replacing single-use plastic carrier bags with paper bags, on the other hand, is ecological non- sense, especially since carrier bags made from more than 80% recycled plastic (as well as bags made from virgin plastic) perform much better in a life cycle analysis.  In the case of beverage bottles, the general rule is that refillable glass only makes sense for short trans- port distances (below 230km). The PET bottle has a better eco-balance due to its low weight and good recycling possibilities – and also because less energy is used in the production and recycling process.  The “organic” bags offered in Aus- trian supermarkets are now com- postable – at least on consumers’ own garden compost. In industrial plants, they are classified as foreign substances and sorted out. As their composition varies greatly, they do not belong in the yellow bin or the yellow sack. www.starlinger.com Rewe eco bag Hofer fruit and veg- etable bag Spar organic bag Manufacturer Naturabiomat Victor Güthoff & Partner Naturabiomat Material – what is stated on the bag not specified contains 40% renew- able raw materials based on renewable raw materials Material – what is actually used* acc. to Rewe Group: potato starch and biode- gradable plastics the BASF bioplastic ecovio consists of fossil-based plastic, polylactic acid, and other additives the basis of Naturabio- mat is formed by e.g. starch, plant-based oils, cellulose, lactic acid, wood, sugar cane Label OK compost Home    Fig. 1 - Sources: Rewe Group; BASF (bioplastic ecovio); Naturabiomat (no informa- tion from Spar available)