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Sri Lanka’s packaging industry is calling for an effective waste management system to help repeal the social stigma that discarded packaging creates waste amountig to nearly six to seven percent of municipal waste.
"Post consumer packaging is considered value-less because it does not perform any useful function," said J D Amarasooriya, director of the Packaging Development Center in Sri Lanka.
"If post consumer packaging is made to perform a useful function by attributing new functions such as recycling, re-using, and recovering of energy, then it will create a value."
Amarasooriya said post-consumption packaging waste is looked at as a mounting problem for Sri Lanka with a comparatively low per capita spend on packaging of just USD 6 per year compared to USD 30 in Eastern Europe, USD 60 in Latin America, USD 375 in Western Europe and USD 500 in Japan.
"With even less than USD 10 we talk of mountain heaps of garbage but at USD 350 they don’t talk about heaps of garbage. The reason is proper waste management," he said.
Geographically the global packaging industry is split into three major trading areas; Europe, Americas and Asia Pacific.
Food and beverage packing are the two largest segments accounting for almost two thirds of the sector while beauty and healthcare is next in line.
Dharmatilake Ratnayake, chairman of the Packaging Development Centre said the waste problem in Sri Lanka is worst in flexible packaging and printed material, which includes non biodegradable material such as plastic and laminated items where post-consumption packaging has no other option than to be burnt.
Manufacturers of such packaging materials have to pay a certain amount to firms which burn the discarded materials and use for energy generation.
He said Sri Lanka is also a heavy importer of packaging material, particularly from India.
Ratnayake said there is a dire need for a fully fledged national packaging center which can conduct research and development and provide necessary education for the industry as well as consumers, and pressed for government support and funding.
Amarasooriya said expenditure on packaging in the developed world; Europe, North America and Japan put together accounts for 64 percent of the world’s packaging consumption.
"There is a global approach towards waste management through the enactment of policies such as sustainability, integrated product policy and producer responsibility," he said.
"By the enactment of these policies proper waste management systems are in operation."
Amarasooriya was addressing the media at a recently held event to announce upcoming international packaging exhibition, ‘Lankapack 2012’ scheduled for May 2012.
The exhibition is organized by the Sri Lanka Institute of Packaging, the apex body which represents the island’s packaging industry with over 160 members including producers/manufacturers of packing material, users, suppliers and related products.
The event, being held after the lapse of a couple of years is expected to showcase new packaging material, new machinery and equipment, and technology from other parts of the world.
Nearly 30 participants are expected from neighboring India alone.
"Post consumer packaging is considered value-less because it does not perform any useful function," said J D Amarasooriya, director of the Packaging Development Center in Sri Lanka.
"If post consumer packaging is made to perform a useful function by attributing new functions such as recycling, re-using, and recovering of energy, then it will create a value."
Amarasooriya said post-consumption packaging waste is looked at as a mounting problem for Sri Lanka with a comparatively low per capita spend on packaging of just USD 6 per year compared to USD 30 in Eastern Europe, USD 60 in Latin America, USD 375 in Western Europe and USD 500 in Japan.
"With even less than USD 10 we talk of mountain heaps of garbage but at USD 350 they don’t talk about heaps of garbage. The reason is proper waste management," he said.
Geographically the global packaging industry is split into three major trading areas; Europe, Americas and Asia Pacific.
Food and beverage packing are the two largest segments accounting for almost two thirds of the sector while beauty and healthcare is next in line.
Dharmatilake Ratnayake, chairman of the Packaging Development Centre said the waste problem in Sri Lanka is worst in flexible packaging and printed material, which includes non biodegradable material such as plastic and laminated items where post-consumption packaging has no other option than to be burnt.
Manufacturers of such packaging materials have to pay a certain amount to firms which burn the discarded materials and use for energy generation.
He said Sri Lanka is also a heavy importer of packaging material, particularly from India.
Ratnayake said there is a dire need for a fully fledged national packaging center which can conduct research and development and provide necessary education for the industry as well as consumers, and pressed for government support and funding.
Amarasooriya said expenditure on packaging in the developed world; Europe, North America and Japan put together accounts for 64 percent of the world’s packaging consumption.
"There is a global approach towards waste management through the enactment of policies such as sustainability, integrated product policy and producer responsibility," he said.
"By the enactment of these policies proper waste management systems are in operation."
Amarasooriya was addressing the media at a recently held event to announce upcoming international packaging exhibition, ‘Lankapack 2012’ scheduled for May 2012.
The exhibition is organized by the Sri Lanka Institute of Packaging, the apex body which represents the island’s packaging industry with over 160 members including producers/manufacturers of packing material, users, suppliers and related products.
The event, being held after the lapse of a couple of years is expected to showcase new packaging material, new machinery and equipment, and technology from other parts of the world.
Nearly 30 participants are expected from neighboring India alone.
