Study reveals corrugated containers, reusable plastic containers offer same environmental advantages
The LCA examined the effects of each system on seven environmental impact indicators.
The Corrugated Packaging Alliance (CPA), Itasca, Ill., released a new life cycle assessment (LCA) of produce packaging that shows neither corrugated containers nor reusable plastic containers (RPC) have an advantage in all environmental impact categories.
The LCA compares the environmental impact from extraction of raw materials to end-of-life for the two commonly-used produce container systems across eight of the highest volume produce items. The assessment shows that the two container systems have different environmental impacts, which create value-based trade-offs. To minimize the footprint of delivering products to market, grower/shippers and packers should evaluate individual commodities, transport distances and other variables rather than rely on a one-system-fits-all perspective.