Packaging Standards

Sustainable Packaging Standards

European Standards on Packaging and the Environment

Australian National Packaging Covenant Environmental Code of Practice and Guidelines for Packaging

ISO 22715:2006 Cosmetics -- Packaging and labelling

ISO 15378:2006 Primary packaging materials for medicinal products -- Particular requirements for the application of ISO 9001:2000, with reference to Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)

ISO 11607-1:2006 Packaging for terminally sterilized medical devices -- Part 1: Requirements for materials, sterile barrier systems and packaging systems

ISO 11607-2:2006 Packaging for terminally sterilized medical devices -- Part 2: Validation requirements for forming, sealing and assembly processes

ISO/IEC TR 24729-1:2008 Information technology -- Radio frequency identification for item management -- Implementation guidelines -- Part 1: RFID-enabled labels and packaging supporting ISO/IEC 18000-6C

ISO/IEC 29500-2:2008 Information technology -- Document description and processing languages -- Office Open XML File Formats -- Part 2: Open Packaging Conventions

ISO 8317:2003 Child-resistant packaging -- Requirements and testing procedures for reclosable packages

ISO 7195:2005 Nuclear energy -- Packaging of uranium hexafluoride (UF6) for transport
Edition: 2 Stage: 90.60 TC 85/SC 5

ISO/IEC Guide 41:2003 Packaging -- Recommendations for addressing consumer needs

ISO 13302:2003 Sensory analysis -- Methods for assessing modifications to the flavour of foodstuffs due to packaging

ISO 21067:2007 Packaging -- Vocabulary

ISO 11418-1:2005 Containers and accessories for pharmaceutical preparations -- Part 1: Drop-dispensing glass bottles

ISO 11418-2:2005 Containers and accessories for pharmaceutical preparations -- Part 2: Screw-neck glass bottles for syrups

ISO 11418-3:2005 Containers and accessories for pharmaceutical preparations -- Part 3: Screw-neck glass bottles (veral) for solid and liquid dosage forms

ISO 11418-4:2005 Containers and accessories for pharmaceutical preparations -- Part 4: Tablet glass bottles

ISO 17088:2008 Specifications for compostable plastics

PVC polyvinyl chloride

Because PVC is flexible, light, transparent and cost-effective, it has been widely used in packaging as

• rigid films (60%), in blister packs, clamshell packs for toys, hardware, electronics, personal care products, household goods; strawberry punnets; salad-to-go bowls
• flexible films (11%), in food wraps, tamper evidence sleeves for medications, shrink-wrapping for games, software, household goods
• closures (3%), in jar lids
• rigid bottles, for mouthwashes, automotive lubricants

In the recent decade use of PVC has been discouraged in several countries, such as in the USA and the European Union. Why? Because of its toxicity at every stage of its lifeycle.

1. To produce PVC, the highly toxic vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) is polymerized. VCM is a known human carcinogen (cancer-causing agent), and due to their exposure through the years many workers in PVC plants developed liver tumours and died of angiosarcoma of the liver.

2. During the PVC polymerization process, dioxin by products are created. Dioxin compounds (particularly polychlorinated dibenzodioxins PCDDs) have been shown to bioaccumulate in humans and wildlife; they are known to cause birth defects (teratogens) and change DNAs (mutagens) and are suspected to cause cancer in humans.

3. During distribution and consumption, the plasticizers such as phthalates used to make PVC softer can easily leach out of PVC packaging into the food. Phthalates mimic human hormones and also adversely affect fish and invertebrates. Phthalates in PVC cling wrap were found to migrate to cheeses, fatty fish and meats. Soft PVC toys for children have been banned in many places due to the leaching of phthalates (particularly diethylhexyl phthalate DEHP and diisononyl phthalate DINP) as kids chewed on the toys. Intravenous bags used in neonatal intensive care units have also been shown to leach DEHP; PVC-free IV bags are now available.

4. When subjected to incineration or wastewaster treatment systems, PVC in domestic garbage also releases dioxin. Burning of household waste in barrels and open pits is the biggest source of dioxin emissions; this is followed by the incineration of medical and municipal waste (medical tubing and blood bags are made from PVC). Landfill fires can also be a significant source. Dioxins persist in the environment and can travel long distances, so they are a global threat.

The Japanese car companies Toyota, Nissan, and Honda have eliminated PVC in their car interiors starting in 2007. Microsoft, Wal-Mart, and Kaiser Permanente announced efforts to eliminate PVC from products and packaging in 2005. Target is reducing its sale of items with PVC. The US State of California is currently considering a bill that would ban the use of PVC in consumer packaging by 2015.

There have been widespread attempts to find alternatives to PVC in packaging:

a. For blister packs, cyclic olefin copolymers (COC) or polymers (COP) have been successfully used, typically in multilayered combinations with polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), or glycol-modified polyethylene terephthalate (PETg).

b. For cling wrap, PVC is still the most common for food catering businesses, but LDPE has gained market for household cling wraps.

More information at
Vinyl Council Australia
European Council of Vinyl Manufacturers
The Vinyl Institute

Biodegradation?

A 17-year investigation on the archaeology of landfills was published by Dr William L Rathje in the National Geographic magazine on May 1991. Some of the astounding findings was that foodstuffs buried 18 years before did NOT decompose significantly in landfill. The lettuce, corn, hot dog and bread roll looked as if they were just mummified, and didn't break down into simpler or smaller substances. Newspapers which were 11 years old looked as good and completely readable as though they were just kept in the attic.

So if manufacturers claim that you can be guiltless in consuming their products because they are packaged in biodegradable plastic bottles or wrappers, which you then throw away into the garbage bin and ultimately ends up in landfill, you can now imagine what that bioplastic junk would look like in the next couple of decades or so.

Remember that bioplastics are expected to degrade only in the conditions set up in industrial composters, not in home composters nor in landfill sites. So unless there is a system for collecting back these used bioplastic packaging you can consider them as destined for the landfill.

This picture might be changing in the future, as some councils are now starting to use UR-3R waste management facilities (that stands for Urban Resource- Reduction, Recovery, Recycling) such as the one run by Global Renewables at Eastern Creek. UNSW subscribes to the UR-3R service. Under this system, recyclable paper, metal and plastic are mechanically separated; compostable materials are refined into organic growth media (it is not clear whether this system can handle bioplastics); and the rest used as a renewable energy source.

PBS Polybutylene Succinate

PBS polybutylene succinate claims to be a fully biodegradable macromolecular polymer that decomposes naturally into CO2 and H2O under specific conditions (contact with soil, light, heat, natural water).

It is used in making bioplastic films, bags, boxes, cosmetic bottles, electronic parts packing, disposable diningware, disposable medical articles.

Bionolle was one of the first PBS bioplastics.