It’s not just landfill sites that have to accommodate our packaging obsession. A Greenpeace report, Plastic Debris in the World’s Oceans, suggests that 80 per cent of marinewaste comes from land-based sources, either dumped on beaches or washed into the seas from rivers or drains. Much of this waste is plastic-based and consists of everything from carrier bags and condoms to toothbrushes and discarded fishin nets. Sea life either becomes entangled in it or ingests it, which can lead to choking, starvation or poisoning.

It’s a fact: we are consuming more, buying more, repairing less and throwing out more. And while the recycling of many goods is being tackled, what they come to us wrapped in is often tossed aside – usually into landfill.

True, an EU directive banning excessive packaging is in place, but since the Packaging (Essential Requirements) Regulations 2003, part of an EU Packaging Directive updated every five years, the UK has seen only a handful of successful prosecutions – among them a butcher who used two polystyrene trays to protect his pre-packed meat, and an office supplies firm that used large boxes to send very small items.

But with 13 major retailers signing up to WRAP’s Courtauld Commitment to support the designing out of packaging waste growth by 2008, to deliver absolute waste reductions in packaging waste by 2010 and to identify ways to tackle food waste, and following the phenomenon of Anya Hindmarch’s designer ‘I’m not a plastic bag’ line fetching up to £200 each on eBay, it seems that – for better or for worse – retailers and shoppers are finally getting involved in the packaging debate. With that comes demand for change.

Although, according to Defra, packaging only contributes to 20 per cent of household waste, ex-Environment Minister Ben Bradshaw was keen to address the issue last year when he urged shoppers to shed unwanted plastic, cardboard, aluminium and composites at the checkout in an attempt to force supermarkets to play their part in the fight against waste – echoing the Women’s Institute summer protest.

Some criticised the stunt for refusing to acknowledge the importance of packaging in protecting products on their way to the shelves or homes. Jane Bickerstaffe, Director of the Industry Council for Packaging and the Environment (Incpen), which represents companies involved in all parts of the packaging and product supply chain, for example, claims that packaging plays a role in the solution to zero waste, rather than representing the problem, since it actually prevents product wastage.

“Clearly he [Ben Bradshaw] doesn’t often do the household shopping or he would know that, with few exceptions, we need that packaging to get our food home in a state fit to eat. I don’t want my chicken mixed up with soap powder, dirty potatoes, ice cream and cat litter.

“It is generally accepted that climate change is the single greatest challenge that we face, and we believe that effective packaging makes a substantial contribution to the fight against it,” she continued. But, when even coconuts come shrink wrapped, things have clearly gone too far.

The recently published 2007 Waste Strategy for England acknowledges the role packaging plays, but states categorically that we need to reduce the amount of packaging and calls on retailers to do more. After all, although the Packaging Directive targets of 60 per cent recovery and 55 per cent recycling of packaging waste in 2008 are expected to be achieved, nearly five million tonnes are not being recycled.

Launching the strategy, Mr Bradshaw said of the packaging regulations: "We want to look at toughening up the law. Trading standards depots have the power to prosecute companies that use excessive packaging and there have been four such prosecutions. But we think the wording of the law makes it too difficult for the local authority to make successful prosecutions. The burden of proof is very high."

The strategy states that ‘the government will, in consultation with the industry, look to amend the producer responsibility regulations to achieve packaging minimisation while keeping in mind businesses’ commercial objective and will ‘propose (subject to analysis) higher recycling targets for the period 2008 to 2012’.

In fact, today, most packaging carries a recycling symbol of some sort, but is recycling enough? Especially when we consider shipping it to China as one ‘sustainable’ way of dealing with our excess. Brian Haley, cabinet member for environment at Haringey Council believes the revised waste strategy could have done more: “The strategy should have concentrated on packaging design,” said the councillor. “At the end of the day, consumers will buy the over packaged food for the product so if the packaging is cut, this reduces the amount of waste taken home.

“The strategy could have targeted designers and manufacturers to change the design of many items so they are biodegradable.” Incpen said it welcomed the government’s new proposals regarding packaging, but warned of

the need to ensure the purpose of packaging is not lost: “The proposal to develop optimal packaging standards will need careful handling so that a narrow focus on the weight of packaging does not get in the way of designing product and packaging supply chains for overall sustainability.”

What is agreed among all parties is that the minimisation of waste from products and packaging should be encouraged and excessive packagers rooted out. Work to encourage sustainable design and products is, therefore, being carried out. From reusable packaging, such as cloth bags, to corn-starch trays that biodegrade on the compost heap, eco designers have got their work cut out.

A guide, Plastic Packaging: Recyclability by Design, developed by Recoup, provides plastics packaging designers with a better understanding of the environmental implications of their design decisions. “Consideration of how to design a pack with an appreciation of the recovery process it may enter is important for packaging businesses,” explains Dr Steve Anderson, who worked with Recoup to develop the guide. “At a regulatory level there is a need to comply with essential requirements for Packaging in Europe, which in part means packs should not interfere with recycling streams.”

Andrew Simmons, CEO at Recoup, added: “The most significant environmental issue is the efficiency of the product delivery system, not the packaging itself – but equally that doesn’t mean we can’t make recycling easier where that’s appropriate. One of our key messages is that these considerations about the environmental impacts should be built into the design process from the start, they shouldn’t be an afterthought – that’s a good business approach.”

The WOBO (WOrld BOttle) is a classic example of thinking outside the packaging box. Back in the 1960s, Albert Heineken, of the Heineken beer family, designed a beer bottle that could be reused as a brick. It was only tested so far as to build a small shed and double garage on the Heineken estate in Amsterdam, but the idea was sophisticated and an intelligent design solution to a growing environmental issue.

Although the WOBO failed to provide a foolproof solution to the problem of empty bottles, the good news is that eco re-design has been advancing of late. The first successful commercial trial of plastic milk bottles containing recycled HDPE has already taken place in the UK, and plastics recycling company Smile Plastics is also

showing what can be done with redundant plastic by producing stylish plastic sheets from recycled shampoo, detergent and milk bottles, yoghurt pots, coffee cups and wellies. The sheets are then used to make a variety of items, from furniture to musical instruments.

Elsewhere, lightweighting glass to reduce the amount used in packaging while offering cost savings to businesses is proving popular. The industry-wide initiative, Container Lite, funded by WRAP and managed by Faraday Packaging Partnership, aims to reduce the amount of glass used in packaging.

Glass manufacturers O-I and Rockware have recently collaborated with drinks manufacturer Coors Brewers Ltd to redesign the iconic Grolsch beer and Coors Fine Light bottles. Using narrow neck press and blow (NNPB) technology, which improves control over glass distribution, the weight of the 300ml bottle was reduced by 13 per cent, saving 4,500 tonnes of glass. O-I has also produced 40g lighter glass bottles for Adnams’ beers using the same technology.

Meanwhile, another project led by WRAP could see more wine importers and retailers opting to bulk import wine, then decant it into lighter bottles, thereby reducing the amount of glass waste the UK generates. “Because we consume a lot of wine, but we don’t produce many green bottles in this country, the domestic market for recycled green glass can struggle to keep pace,” explains Andy Dawe, WRAP’s Material Sector Manager for Glass. “WRAP is

looking to work in partnership with the wine industry and retailers to develop cost-effective ways to reduce the volume of green glass coming into the UK, and to increase demand for domestic production of green glass wine bottles.

“Our research shows that an additional 10 per cent switch would mean 55,000 tonnes less glass imported and a rise in demand for recycled green glass in the UK of 50,000 tonnes.”

So, it seems that the issue of excessive packaging is, at last, being addressed and sustainable packaging is on its way. And if you ever see a shrink-wrapped coconut? Set it free.