PITCH-IN CANADA
 Resource Centre

The Green Shopper Program

 The 3R's Packaging Hierarchy

Although no packaging is the best choice of all, it is not always practical. The need for any packaging should be evaluated in the research, design and marketing stages of a product. The goal should always be to reduce unnecessary packaging.

The bulk delivery of solids and liquids to food industries and bulk retail sales from bins (including hardware products, produce, housewares, toys and other items) eliminate unnecessary packaging. Where the need for packaging exists, packaging should follow the 3R's hierarchy.

The 3R's packaging hierarchy does not include all possible options. To measure full environmental and/or economic impacts packaging must be subject to an agreed upon reputable and independent environmental life cycle analysis model as well as national testing protocols.

A Word about Life Cycle Analysis

Life cycle analysis is a tricky art. Major issues must be tackled in defining what exactly constitutes an "environmentally sound" product. The best hope would appear to be much improved life cycle analysis models measuring comprehensive "cradle to grave" impacts and risks.

Life cycle studies are susceptible to bias. Nobody knows just how to measure and compare all the environmental and health risks associated with products and processes. Often, data on pollutants emitted during manufacture are not available. If data is available, the associated risks may not be. And the field is fraught with controversial accounting practices.

Canada's National Packaging Task Force Life-Cycle Analysis Subcommittee is drafting guidelines for preparing environmental profiles. The guidelines are being developed to enable business to make two kinds of decisions:

  • to minimize the amount of resources used and pollutants released to the environment
  • to arrive at an optimum environmental choice for materials used and the way a product is made, transported and sold

Click on each of the 3R's for more information about:

To return to The Green Shopper menu click here.

To return to the Resource Centre Main Menu click here.