††††Packaging is material, usually of metal, paper, plastic or glass, used to protect products, to advertise them, and to make them easier to display.
Environmentalists have criticised packaging materials as being wasteful of energy and resources. In the United Kingdom, over 5 million cans of drink are sold each year, although only just over 3 per cent of the metal cans are recycled. Germany is trying to reduce packaging and the waste of resources. Since December 1991, shoppers have been able to leave behind surplus paper and plastic packaging. And since 1993, shops have been obliged to take back empty cans, toothpaste tubes and yoghurt cartons, and a compulsory returnable deposit is levied on certain types of packaging.
Some of the potentially most damaging forms of packaging are plastics, most of which are made from oil. A biodegradable plastic called Biopol was developed in 1990. Soil micro-organisms are used to build the plastic and, when discarded, it can be placed in landfill sites where it breaks down harmlessly into
