Good and Bad Packaging: Who Decides?

The 1990s will be the decade of environmental awareness. Governments have introduced (or are about to introduce) eco‐labelling schemes for products and packages. However, assessing the environmental friendliness of packaging can be meaningful only if cognisance is taken of the six functions of packaging and the three environments where packaging has to perform. Categorising packaging as either good or bad based on whether or not it is recyclable or reusable is too simplistic an approach and could result in greater rather than fewer environmental problems.