News - March 2009

Rapak's Bag-in-Box gets green light in Life Cycle Assessment

Rapak recently selected PIRA to undertake an independent Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of bag-in-box packaging. The assessment has confirmed the excellent environmental credentials of bag-in-box, making it a real alternative to traditional packaging materials.

The specific aim of the assessment was to assess and compare the potential life cycle environmental impacts of bag-in-box technology with alternative liquid packaging formats.

The report considered the most commonly used packaging materials in each of the respective sectors assessed, including chemicals, wine, postmix syrup, dairy, edible oils, industrial products, aseptic and bulk packaging. The study compared 30 different packaging formats.

Among the many findings, the weight of packaging raw materials was a key element and this impacted on distribution scenarios, both for empty and filled packaging. This is driving many supply chains to consider bag-in-box versus traditional conventional rigid alternatives. Rapak believes this trend is set to continue with many other food and non-food customers trialling and converting to bag-in-box.

The PIRA report's conclusion that bag-in-box systems were environmentally competitive and often superior to alternative packaging formats.

The purpose of the LCA was not to prove that one packaging format is 'better' than another. But with the environment having an increasing influence in packaging decisions, this type of research is invaluable in helping customers make the right choice for their particular product or application.