Advantages and disadvantages of plastic packaging

Plastična embalaža je ena izmed glavnih predstavnic embalaže. V današnjem času predstavlja plastika nenadomestljiv material predvsem z vidika svojih prednosti, ki se navezujejo tako na izdelavo kot tudi ceno. Gre za nepogrešljivo vrsto embalaže, glede katere v zadnjih letih prihajajo predvsem v ospredje njene negativne lastnosti, kot je onesnaževanje naravnih habitatov različnih bitij. Kljub zavedanju ob takšnih globalnih težavah je plastika oziroma plastična embalaža še vedno prisotna. V diplomskem delu smo raziskovali področje plastične embalaže, pri čemer smo želeli ugotoviti, zakaj jo kljub njenim vse glasnejšim negativnim vplivom na okolje še vedno uporabljamo v gospodinjstvih in v svojem vsakdanu. V teoretičnem delu smo predstavili področje plastike, njeno zgodovino in nastanek, prednosti in slabosti plastične embalaže, njeno onesnaževanje ter recikliranje. V eksperimentalnem delu smo s pomočjo spletne ankete in pogovora s fokusno skupino pridobili potrebne odgovore in informacije o uporabi in njenem poznavanju. Sestavili smo vprašalnik, ki smo ga uporabili tako pri spletni anketi kot tudi pri pogovoru s fokusno skupino. Spletno anketo smo izdelali na portalu www.1ka., medtem ko smo pogovor s fokusno skupino izvedli s skupino študentov Naravoslovnotehniške fakultete. S pomočjo odgovorov smo preverili, ali obstajajo razlike glede na spol, starost, zaposlitev in kraj bivanja pri poznavanju plastične embalaže. Kljub vse večjemu spodbujanju k manjši uporabi plastične embalaže se njena prisotnost morda ne bo zmanjšala, saj je zelo koristna na različnih področjih, kar kažejo tudi rezultati ankete. Ugotovili smo, da se večina ljudi zaveda težav plastične embalaže ter stremi k izboljšanju in spremembam predvsem pri pakiranju živil.Plastic packaging is one of the main representatives of packaging. Nowadays, plastic represents an irreplaceable material, especially from the point of view of its advantages, which are related to both production and price. It is an indispensable type of packaging, but in recent years its negative properties have come to the fore, such as the pollution of the natural habitats of various creatures. Despite awareness of such global problems, plastic or plastic packaging is still present. In our diploma thesis, we researched the field of plastic packaging, where we wanted to find out why, despite its increasingly loud negative effects on the environment, it is still used in households and in our everyday life. In the theoretical part, we presented the field of plastics, its history and creation, the advantages and disadvantages of plastic packaging, its pollution and recycling. In the experimental part, with the help of an online survey and a conversation with a focus group, we obtained the necessary answers and information about the use and its familiarity. We assembled a questionnaire that we used both in the online survey and the discussion with the focus group. We created an online survey on the portal www.1ka., and we conducted a conversation with the focus group with a group of students from the Faculty of Science and Technology. With the help of the responses, we checked whether there are differences in knowledge of plastic packaging according to gender, age, employment and place of residence. Despite the increasing push to reduce the use of plastic packaging, its presence may not decrease, as it is beneficial in various fields, as the survey results also show. We found that most people are aware of the problems of plastic packaging and strive for improvement and changes, especially in food packaging