What packaging Materials?

Purpose

To identify the different types of packaging material and estimate the relative proportions used.

Activity

Students brainstorm all the different types of packaging they can think of, for example glass, paper, plastic, cardboard, steel, aluminium, then list which materials are used to package foods and beverages.

For younger students, a trip to the supermarket may be useful as a stimulus for this discussion. Students can make up a checklist by cutting and pasting pictures of different packaging materials onto a sheet. (Supermarket advertising material would be a useful resource for this.) This could be used as the basis of a bar graph for the results.

Ask students to collect different packaging materials used for foods and beverages from around the home and school. Make up a class display on packaging materials. Students may not know the difference between aluminium and steel. Explain that steel will stick is magnetic because of its iron content; aluminium is non-ferrous and is not magnetic.

Count the number of packages made from different materials. Draw a bar graph to display the number of each or a pie chart to display the proportions of each material collected.

Discussion

What are the packaging materials for foods and beverages?

Does the bar graph of packaging materials indicate the proportions of packaging used in the community? Why not?

What are the purposes of packaging?

For secondary students

Investigate how different packaging materials are produced. This web site provides information on the manufacture, use and recycling of aluminium beverage cans.

Compare the costs and benefits of using different materials:

• extraction and processing of raw materials
  
• energy to process raw materials and produce packaging
  
• ability to recycle
  
• transport and storage issues
  
• sustainability.