Effective waste management by enhancing reusable packaging
This research aims to propose an integrated method, which combines all the aspects required to reduce environmental impact from waste packaging and to increase knowledge on the best way to enhance reusable packaging. Through a review of the extant literature, a conceptual framework was designed of the most important dimensions to enhance reusable packaging amongst society and industries The main contributions in the research are the development of a Social Behaviour Aspect Model (SBAM) and the creation of reusable packaging attributes checklist. The SBAM can help industries focus on having high knowledge about reuse of packaging and to cooperate with communities to develop personal and social values and norms during the designing of reusable packaging. SBAM is the output from the first phase, which showed the importance of making an effort to develop packaging for consumers to reuse. The reusable packaging attributes checklist can provide a guideline for manufacturers/designers who intend to develop packaging sustainability performance through designing reusable packaging, and contribute to meet and interpret the reuse of packaging requirements and procedures. It also determines the environmental impact of reusable packaging attributes, which many industries are concerned about. The reusable packaging attributes checklist is the output from the second and third phases. The System Dynamic (SD) method was the approach used to determinate the interaction between social aspects and reusable packaging. The Normal Average, Codes and Coding and factor analysis with Principal Component Analysis (PCA) approaches were used to determine the reusable packaging attributes checklist. The last phase of the research was the conduction of a case study of a real company which needs to increase the amount of reusable packaging it uses and which seeks to reduce its environmental impact. All methods used in this research have both a quantitative and a qualitative nature. Data was collected by evaluation of consumers' responses and experts' experiences, as provided in the questionnaires. This research opens up opportunities for improving packaging and meeting sustainable profits and provides valuable information based on social, economic and environmental benefits of reusable packaging. The novelty of this research can help industries to investigate the most important areas for development within communities to enhance the use of reusable packaging and also facilitate the process-based change from one-way packaging to reusable packaging effectively with reduction of environmental impact.
TD Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering
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