The plastic bottle of water you dragged to gym class or the can of soda you opened during coffee break aren't as innocent as they seem. Because yes, disposable packaging protects your products, informs you as a consumer and simplifies transport. Moreover, the market is constantly changing, because a whole army is working on sustainable processes and stricter rules. And yet: the negative impact remains large. These figures map out the world of packaging.

Packaging has become an integral part of your daily life

1. In 2020, households in Flanders collected 3.2 million tonnes of waste. That amount is equivalent to 476 kilos per burger. Our northern neighbours clocked in at 9.1 million tonnes, or 521 kilos per Dutch person. (Statistics Flanders, CBS)

2. Single-use packaging shall be part of that household waste. The number that came onto the market for households in Belgium grew to 877,000 tonnes in 2019. That same year, the amount of industrial single-use packaging reached the 750,000 tonne mark. Just to clarify: household packaging is linked to the operation of a household, while industrial packaging is designed for the use of, for example, professionals, industries or schools. (OVAM, Fevia)

3. Imagine how many packages you opened, torn or cut yesterday. Is your grade below or above the daily average of 7? (The Transformists)

4. A large number of food packaging eventually disappears into the trash unopened. This amounts to 1.44 kilos per inhabitant of the Flemish Region per year. In fact, 48% of these closed packages are still suitable for consumption. (Flemish Government)

5. Every year, an astronomical pile of plastic, cardboard and paper ends up at Dutch front doors. 98 million kilos to be exact. The bulk of this, 87 million, consists of shipping materials such as cardboard boxes, plastic bags and filling materials. This packaging comes from the hands of parcel deliverers. Mail deliverers, in turn, drop 11 million kilos of paper envelopes and plastic shipping sleeves in the letterbox. (Recycling Network Benelux)

Plastic is popping up everywhere, even in the deepest parts of the ocean

6. Imagine that your street is littered with packets of sugar, 30 pieces per inhabitant. That 30 kilos is what a consumer consumes on average in plastic every year. We only use more than 40% of them once. (River Cleanup, National Geographic)

7. Every second, 15,000 plastic bottles roll over the counter worldwide. That equates to one million copies per minute and 480 billion per year. In Belgium, this amounts to 1.2 billion PET bottles annually, in the Netherlands 1.5 billion. (Plastic Soup Foundation, Recycling Network Benelux)

8. Single-use plastics (SUPs) often end up in the sea after a single use. The 10 SUPs that pollute our beaches the most account for 70% of all marine litter in Europe. In 2021, the EU banned a number of those SUPs, including straws, balloon sticks and cotton buds. Other polluters such as candy wrappers, crisp bags and wet wipes unfortunately fall by the wayside. (European Commission, Plastic Soup Foundation)

9. The same components that make plastic so strong and flexible make it take longer for that plastic to break down. For example, the lifespan of a plastic bag is 20 years, a bottle is 450 years and a toothbrush is 500. So waste continues to be added without disappearing. (WWF)

10. Worldwide, the non-profit organisation River Cleanup has fished one million kilos of plastic out of rivers. This impressive amount is equivalent to the weight of the MAS in Antwerp. With their clean-up actions, the Belgian organization wants to prevent 100 million kilos of plastic from reaching our oceans by 2025. (Knack)

Single-use packaging puts human and animal health at risk

11. Are you a lover of fish or shellfish? Then you swallow 11,000 pieces of microplastic every year because of the massive accumulation of plastic in our oceans. With a portion of mussels, for example, you can easily ingest 50 to 100 particles of plastic. No laughing matter, because the plasticizers, endocrine disruptors and flame retardants contained in plastic pose health risks. For example, they can lead to obesity, infertility, breast cancer, and stunted growth in children. (National Geographic, Flemish Parliament)

12. European researchers studied 42 single-use packaging made of paper, cardboard and vegetable fibres. 32 of these were found to be intentionally treated with PFAS. This is a collective term for grease- and moisture-repellent chemicals that never break down. By the way, the highest concentration was found in disposable tableware and food packaging made of sugar cane, which bear the stamp 'biodegradable'. The alarm bells ring when you know that there is a link between exposure to PFAS substances and cancer and a disturbed immune system, hormone balance and fertility. (MO*)

13. Quickly open your kitchen cupboards and count the colorful packages of macaroni, cornflakes or rice. Through that recycled cardboard, processed with printing ink, harmful mineral oils end up in your food. A Belgian research team determined that the concentration of the MOAH strain in 23 samples exceeded the action threshold. This substance can also be carcinogenic. (Sciensano)

14. Beverage cans that end up as litter on roadsides and meadows also put animal lives at risk. In the tall grass, those cans are hard to spot. Mowers splinter them into small sharp pieces, which later end up in cattle feed. In our northern neighbors, 12,000 cows suffer internal injuries from such shards every year. An unhappy 33% die. (Recycling Network Benelux)

15. Every year, one million seabirds and 100,000 marine animals die from the staggering amounts of plastic in our oceans. Moreover, this alarming plastic soup threatens 700 marine animal species with extinction. (National Geographic)

The harmful environmental impact of packaging materials

16. The climate impact of packaging should always be considered together with the climate impact of the product it protects. The environmental impact of a food product is 85% in the product itself and 10% in the packaging, but the differences are remarkable. In the case of a packet of cheese, for example, the packaging accounts for less than 1% of CO2 emissions. Unfortunately, the other extreme also exists: in the case of a PET bottle, the packaging contributes to 90% of CO2 emissions. (Nature and Environment)

17. Which packaging is the most environmentally friendly? Difficult to find your way through the maze of information. Sometimes, disposable packaging is even better for the environment than reusable material. Researchers took a closer look at food and beverage packaging such as cutlery sets, chip bags and cups. They compared disposable paper packaging with reusable versions made of polypropylene, a type of plastic. They linked this reusable packaging to 2.5 times more CO2 emissions and 3.6 times more freshwater consumption. (Cepi) The best packaging is... No packaging.

18. It is not only the production and recycling process of packaging that requires energy and raw materials, but also transport. In Belgium, the transport sector accounts for 22.3% of total CO2 emissions. No less than 98.3% of this is due to road transport. That makes it one of the main sources of greenhouse gas emissions in our country. The impact of freight traffic should not be underestimated: between 1990 and 2019, it increased by 120% in tonne-kilometres. (Klimaat.be)

19. Plastic bottles and cans regularly miss the collection bin for which they are intended, making up 40% of the volume of litter. (Flemish Parliament)

20. Fishing (micro)plastics out of seas and oceans is technically virtually impossible. Barely 1% of the waste that ends up in the sea remains afloat and can be captured. 94% ends up on the seabed. (Flemish Parliament)

Your wallet also pays a high price for packaging

21. Leaving your plastic bottle or can in the appropriate collection bin is not only for the environment, but also for your wallet. After all, the costs of cleaning up litter are high. In Flanders, for example, you contribute 25.64 euros every year to a total of 164 million. The Dutch litter policy costs 250 million euros annually, or 15.10 euros per inhabitant. (Recycling Network Benelux)

22. In 2021, the cost of manufacturing packaging exploded compared to the previous year. The average annual price of plastic packaging increased by 16%, that of cardboard by 9% and that of aluminium by 6%. These high production costs increase the pressure on producers, a situation that is unsustainable in the long term. There is a good chance that suppliers will raise the price of their products further this year. (Fevia, VRT)

23. Are you already regularly at the checkout with your mouth full of teeth when you see the cost price of your shopping cart? You can save up to 30% by choosing products with little or no packaging waste. During your next store visit, opt for single-material packaging or bring your reusable shopping bag. (30% less)

24. Meanwhile, 35% of Belgian households are made up of people living alone. They pay more for their shopping bag: their food costs are 10% higher than those of a family of two. (Statbel, Nibud)

25. Single or not, you think better in terms of meals than products. This way you avoid surpluses, because food packaging that ends up in the residual waste unopened costs a lot of money. Every year, you pay an average of 89 euros for food loss in Flanders. Together, we are throwing about 564 million euros in the bin. (Flemish Government, Radio2)

Join the fight against single-use packaging

No matter how hard governments and manufacturers worldwide look for sustainable alternatives, the most ecological packaging is the one that doesn't exist. Dripl' s Refill Point is one such solution. You put down your glass or reusable bottle, choose flat or sparkling water and add a flavour concentrate if needed. Will you help us avoid 1 million packages this year?