1. In your opinion, does packaging affect the environment? If yes, in what way?

2. How do you understand the term ‘sustainable packaging’? What properties should it have?

3. Look at the pictures. Are there any products which have a sustainable package? What are the things made from?

Before reading the text, check that you understand these words and phrases. Match them to the definitions.

1.A life cycle assessment	a. Packaging, which is made of materials that can be used again, usually after processing, for packaging or some another purpose.
2.Reusable packaging	b. It is a measure of human demand on the Earth's ecosystems.
3.Sustainability	c. Its synonyms are eco-friendly and nature friendly which are used to refer to goods and services considered to inflict minimal or no harm on the environment.
4.The ecological footprint	d. Packaging, which will easily breakdown and disappear into the soil or the atmosphere, without causing damage.
5.Recyclable packaging	e. Packaging, such as glass bottles, which can itself be cleaned and re-used to store the same food or something else.
6.Environmentally friendly	f. In general terms, it is the ability to maintain balance of a certain process or state in any system.
7.Biodegradable packaging	g. LCA, also known as life cycle analysis, ecobalance, and cradle-to-grave analysis) is the investigation and valuation of the environmental impacts of a given product or service caused or necessitated by its existence.

Fill the gaps using the words from the previous exercise.

1. ______________ involves the collection and evaluation of quantitative data on the inputs and outputs of material, energy and waste flows associated with a product over its entire life cycle so that the environmental impacts can be determined.

2. Paper bags, cardboard boxes, aluminum and tin cans, and glass bottles are all ______________ materials.

3. Investors and occupiers seem to agree that energy management and ____________ programs benefit their bottom line as much as they do our planet.

4. Everyone has an __________ because we all need to use the earth’s resources to survive.

5. Recycling is the first thing that comes to mind when we think of being __________.

6. Most __________ takes weeks, often months, to break down.

7. __________ products include hand-held containers, bins, boxes or totes; pallets; divider sheets; bulk containers; storage containers; custom-designed packaging; and other products.

Skim the text and find an appropriate heading for each paragraph.

1. The notion of sustainable packaging

2. Criteria

3. Benefits

4. Costs

5. Examples

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