title: Prevention policies addressing packaging and packaging waste: Some emerging trends.
abstract: Packaging waste is a major issue in several countries. Representing in industrialized countries around 30-35% of municipal solid waste yearly generated, this waste stream has steadily grown over the years even if, especially in Europe, specific recycling and recovery targets have been fixed. Therefore, an increasing attention starts to be devoted to prevention measures and interventions. Filling a gap in the current literature, this explorative paper is a first attempt to map the increasingly important phenomenon of prevention policies in the packaging sector. Through a theoretical sampling, 11 countries/states (7 in and 4 outside Europe) have been selected and analyzed by gathering and studying primary and secondary data. Results show evidence of three specific trends in packaging waste prevention policies: fostering the adoption of measures directed at improving packaging design and production through an extensive use of the life cycle assessment; raising the awareness of final consumers by increasing the accountability of firms; promoting collaborative efforts along the packaging supply chains.
authors.affiliation: Department of Economics and Management, Università degli Studi di Brescia, Contrada S. Chiara 50, 25122 Brescia, Italy; CReSV - Center for Research on Sustainability and Value, Università Bocconi, Milan, Italy. Electronic address: antonio.tencati@unibs.it.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tencati
authors.affiliation: Department of Management and Technology, CReSV - Center for Research on Sustainability and Value, Università Bocconi, Milan, Italy. Electronic address: stefano.pogutz@unibocconi.it.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pogutz
authors.affiliation: CReSV - Center for Research on Sustainability and Value, Università Bocconi, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Beatrice
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Moda
authors.affiliation: CReSV - Center for Research on Sustainability and Value, Università Bocconi, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brambilla
authors.affiliation: Università degli Studi di Salerno, Italy.
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cacia
mesh_terms: D058735:Environmental Policy / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000639:trends; D052918:Environmental Restoration and Remediation / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000639:trends; D019064:Product Packaging; D059027:Recycling / Q000639:trends; D012037:Refuse Disposal / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D062611:Solid Waste / Q000032:analysis*; D018505:Waste Management / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D062611:Solid Waste
keywords: Collaboration; Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR); Innovation; Life Cycle Assessment (LCA); Packaging; Prevention