The Prospect and Uses of Plastic Packaging

The future of plastics in packaging is difficult to predict. Since the introduction of plastic materials into the packaging industry in the 1960s, its consumption has increased steadily and is the most rapidly growing segment of the packaging industry. Glass, paper, and metals are the traditional food packaging materials. However, in some areas these have now been replaced by plastics in one form or another. Plastics are used in these instances because of its low cost in both dollar and energy units, greater toughness and unit weight, transparency, flexibility, convenience, and ease of processing and conversion. While prices continue to rise for glass, wood, tin plate, and aluminum, the prices for plastic materials have been reduced over the years and are still, in general, going down. The growing solid waste crisis has resulted in a resurgence of interest in recycling of all kinds. The public perception of non-recyclability of plastics must be changed. Indications are that plastic packaging in particular will be the focus of increasing pressure by 1 N 2 environmental groups and by legislative bodies over the next few years. One important factor is the growth of plastic packaging in supermarkets, where the tendency is for every item to be packaged. Plastic containers for food products are a growing and developing industry. In the next few years growth will occur due to penetration into new markets as well as the evolution of improved containers. Consumer benefits are the driving force for this change. Multi-layer plastics technology will be the tool to combine performance requirements and consumer needs to yield the containers the public wants. Today\u27s packaging must deliver recognizable consumer benefits in order to succeed in the marketplace