PACKAGING WASTE TO BE REDUCED BY 4 BILLION LBS BY 2020?

Survey results from the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) found that food, beverage and consumer products manufacturers anticipate that they will eliminate 4 billion lbs of packaging waste in the U.S. from 2005-2020. The 4 billion lbs represent a 19% reduction of the reporting companies' total average U.S. packaging weight.

The study found that more than 1.5 billion lbs have already been avoided since 2005, and another 2.5 billion lbs are expected to be avoided by 2020.
The 1.5 billion lbs of packaging avoided since 2005 includes more than 800 million lbs of plastic and more than 500 million lbs of paper.

The greenhouse gas emissions avoided by a 4 billion pound packaging reduction have the equivalent impact of removing 815,000 cars from the road or 363,000 homes from the energy grid for one year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency's Greenhouse Gas Equivalency Calculator.

The report is based on the findings of two surveys conducted for GMA by McKinsey & Company and Georgetown Economic Services. To download the report, go to http://www.gmaonline.org/.