GVM study highlights efficiency of plastic packaging

German market research institute for packaging, GVM, has announced how savings of almost one million tonnes of packaging have been achieved in Germany.

The institute’s research compared how packaging was made in 1991 with 2013, finding a reduction in consumption from 3.7 million to 2.76 million tonnes of plastics.

In terms of its popularity, the study, conducted on behalf of BKV, shows the private and commercial consumption of plastics packaging has grown from 1.64 million to 2.76 million tonnes from 1991 to 2013 as a consequence of substitution effects, new markets, and changed packaging structures.

It points out that advances in materials technology mean that the lightweighting of plastics packaging have made its transportation more efficient and economical.

The study, ‘Development of the efficiency of plastics packaging from 1991 to 2013’, is based on an evaluation of the comprehensive GVM databases on the packaging market and packaging samples.

The survey provides an insight into the development of plastics packaging over the last 20 years, and shows how plastics packaging has contributed to resource efficiency and the avoidance of waste.