WHY DO WE USE PLASTIC FOR PACKAGING? Using alternatives to plastic can increase environmental impacts Total masses for same functional units x 3.6 Plastic Packaging Energy consumption in total life-cycle x 2.2 GHG emissions in total life-cycle x 2.7 Alternative materials 8 million more tonnes of packaging would be generated per year in the UK if we turned away from plastic. Thanks to plastic, we have fewer trucks on the road, use less energy, emit less greenhouse gasses, and produce less material that we have to recover and recycle. Over 40 academics from across the UK have voiced their support for the environmental benefits of plastics.1 "Plastics are a vital part of the drive to 'lightweight' products to save energy across all industry sectors. It makes sense to exploit their range of physical properties and processability, combined with lightweighting capabilities, enabling many valuable products" Professor Phil Coates, FREng Director of the Polymer Interdisciplinary Research Centre, University of Bradford 1 BBC (2018), PoliticsHome (2019) Sources: bpf.co.uk/sourceshttp://www.bpf.co.uk