The concept of a Circular Economy assumes that the value of products, materials and resources is to be maintained in the economy for as long as possible to ultimately reduce waste generation to a minimum. In this concept, raw materials are repeatedly put into circulation many times, often passing from one branch of industry to another. So energy, water, metal ores, oil, gas, coal and others, and wherever possible, their replacement with renewable resources (wind and solar energy, natural resources). It is important, and this is the essence of the Circular Economy, the maximum re-use of scarce materials and raw materials from already produced and used products. This concept has found the support of the European Commission and activities in this area will successively be implemented through appropriate legal acts of the European Union. The need to implement solutions in the field of minimizing the consumption of raw materials, materials and energy or reducing waste production is also felt by consumers and industry. The packaging industry is particularly interested in implementing the concept of a Circular Economy. Due to the dynamic growth of the packaging market, which in 2017 reached around EUR 9.6 billion in Poland (data from the Polish Chamber of Packaging) and the increasing amount of post-consumer waste, it is necessary to introduce solutions limiting the consumption of raw materials and energy throughout the product life cycle.
The aim of the article is to present current practices regarding the reduction of the negative impact of packaging on the environment and the indication of directions for the implementation of the Circular Economy concept in the packaging industry.
This paper describes the study of thermal properties of packages of silicon carbide Schottky diodes. In the paper the packaging process of Schottky diodes, the measuring method of thermal parameters, as well as the results of measurements are presented. The measured waveforms of transient thermal impedance of the examined diodes are compared with the waveforms of this parameter measured for commercially available Schottky diodes.
Packaging steels are thin gauge flat carbon steels coated with tin or chrome on both sides. They are very important raw materials for the production of steel packaging, which allow food to be stored safely and with an extended shelf life. The publication focuses on the production process of ETP and ECCS steel, as well as the problem of corrosion of steel packaging.
The topic of legislative changes that require the elimination of chromium (VI) compounds from the steel passivation process was also discussed. The packaging steel industry is currently facing the need to develop a new passivation technology. Leading packaging steel manufacturers in cooperation with varnish and paint suppliers have developed chromium (VI) free technologies by implementing chromium (III) compounds and titanium oxide technology.
Authors focus also on new trends and potential development directions for the packaging steel industry.
The transition to circular economy requires diversifying material sources, improving secondary raw materials management, including recycling, and finally finding sustainable alternative materials. Both recycled and bio-based plastics are often regarded as promising
alternatives to conventional fossil-based plastics. Their broad application instead of fossilbased plastics is, however, frequently the subject of criticism because of offering limited
environmental benefits. The study presents a comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) of
fossil-based polyethylene terephthalate (PET) versus its recycled and bio-based counterparts. The system boundary covers the plastics manufacturing and end-of-life plastic management stages (cradle-to-cradle/grave variant). Based on the data and assumptions set
out in the research, recycled PET (rPET) demonstrates the best environmental profile out
of the evaluated plastics in all impact categories. The study contributes to circular economy in plastics by providing transparent and consistent knowledge on their environmental
portfolio.