eEmbalaža

Companies have a lot information concerning their packaging materials, which could be used as indicators of how packaging and waste packaging is managed within the company. Most companies are already reducing the quantities of packaging they are using, but only a few are able to state what the actual value of this reduction is.

Gathered data has an added value, when it can be compared to a basic common unit, in the case of packaging this is certainly a unit of packaged goods. This basic indicator may then be compared per year, packaging material etc and incorporated into company eco-efficiency strategies, environmental management systems or quality assurance systems to plan for improvement, which is a basic foundation in support of packaging eco-design.

The eEmbalaža tool offers a simple calculation of:

  • material efficiency of packaging materials used or share of packaging per product unit in % and
  • filling with regard volume available in packaging or filled volume in % for the packaging system, which is composed of primary, secondary and tertiary packaging.

By entering data for a product and its packaging system in tabs Product 1, 2..., 10 you will be able to calculate both indicators for the packaging system as a whole, as well as for each packaging system component (primary, secondary, tertiary) for a total of ten product units.

The entered data and calculation will appear in a new table, where a comparison of the various packaging systems will be displayed and graphs presenting a comparison of filled volume in % and share of packaging per product unit in %.

Within each tab Product 1, 2..., 10 enter the name of the product and volume or mass of its primary product packaging i.e. "Canned beverage 0,5 l".

To calculate the indicators you need the following data:

  • product mass in g; in our example for Canned beverage 0,5 l "500"
  • product volume in cm3; in our example for Canned beverage 0,5 l "500"
  • available volume in primary packaging in cm3, which is naturally greater than the volume of the product; in our example for Canned beverage 0,5 l "520"
  • available volume in secondary packaging in cm3 , in our example for Canned beverage 0,5 l "18292,17"
  • available volume in tertiary packaging in cm3, in our example for Canned beverage 0,5 l "1286400"

This information is followed by a table of packaging materials, where you should state the mass of individual packaging components (don't forget labels, caps, wrapping foils...) of primary, secondary and tertiary packaging in grams. The mass of the individual materials will be added together after you have clicked shrani. Data on glass or other materials , which is not specifically mentioned should be entered under "other".

In our example for Canned beverage 0,5 l:

  • the primary packaging is metal weighing 18 g;
  • the secondary packaging is composed of paper and plastic that weigh (200 g + 50 g) i.e. 250 g;
  • the tertiary packaging is composed of plastic and wooden that weigh (500 g + 24500 g) i.e. 25 000 g.

To finalise the calculation the last two figures must be entered:

  • P/S which is the number of primary packaging units within the secondary packaging; In our example for Canned beverage 0,5 l "24" and
  • S/T which is the number of secondary packaging units within the tertiary packaging In our example for Canned beverage 0,5 l "63".
In our example for Canned beverage 0,5 l "63".

The results of the calculation for Canned beverage 0,5 l reveal:

  • the share of primary packaging per unit is: 3,6 %
  • the share of secondary packaging per unit is: 2,1 %
  • the share of tertiary packaging per unit is: 3,3 %
  • the share of all packaging per unit is: 9 %
  • filled primary packaging volume: 96 %
  • filled secondary packaging volume: 68 %
  • filled tertiary packaging volume: 90 %
  • filled packaging system volume: 59 %

Some general information:

Packaging describes all products made of any materials of any nature to be used for the containment, protection, handling, delivery and presentation of goods, from raw materials to processed goods, from the producer to the user or the consumer. ‘Non-returnable’ items used for the same purposes shall also be considered to constitute packaging.

Packaging constitutes a system which is normally made up of:

  • sales packaging or primary packaging, i. e. packaging conceived so as to constitute a sales unit to the final user or consumer at the point of purchase;
  • grouped packaging or secondary packaging, i. e. packaging conceived so as to constitute at the point of purchase a grouping of a certain number of sales units whether the latter is sold as such to the final user or consumer or whether it serves only as a means to replenish the shelves at the point of sale; it can be removed from the product without affecting its characteristics;
  • transport packaging or tertiary packaging, i. e. packaging conceived so as to facilitate handling and transport of a number of sales units or grouped packaging in order to prevent physical handling and transport damage. Transport packaging does not include road, rail, ship and air containers.

Various packaging elements complement each other and constitute a system which must be assessed as a whole in order to find the best solution, for example required packaging strength is achieved through varying combinations of sales, grouped and transport packaging which could include combinations of higher outer layer strength and weaker sales units or sales units with increased strength and weaker outer layers.

To prepare this calculation of packaging indicators, experience gained from: http://www.opti-pack.org was used.

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