Material Use Efficiency of Primary Packaging of Fast-Moving Consumer Goods

To make different packages with various filling quantities better comparable for their packaging material use, in this study the packaging material use efficiency was defined as the ratio of fill good amount to the packaging weight. Several hundred rigid packages (tubes, bottles, cans, and carton packages) for liquid and higher-viscous fast-moving consumer goods, e.g., beverages and personal care products, were analyzed (weight) and more than >1000 data sets were taken from packaging suppliers of glass and PET packaging. As expected, glass packaging is heavier than PET packaging by a factor of around 10, and with a higher filling volume less packaging per amount of food is required. The material use efficiency of glass and PET bottles can differ by up to a factor of 3 within one filling quantity. The results are relevant for calculating life cycle assessments (LCAs) and selection of material efficient packaging.