The Joint Initiative for Sustainable Humanitarian Assistance Packaging Waste Management, which is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID; www.usaid.gov), has issued an information sheet setting out recommendations – along with the advantages and disadvantages – for five types of plastics used in humanitarian aid.

Plastic packaging is regarded as essential for delivering and storing food and relief items when aid is needed during conflicts or climate emergencies. The plastics referred to in the sheet are PET, HDPE, LDPE, polypropylene, and metallised plastics.

For PET, the initiative recommends procuring transparent (rather than coloured) bottles while ensuring adequate storage conditions and appropriate reuse, given the polymer’s low heat resistance and risk of wear and tear. 

It also advises that HDPE packaging and PP woven bags should be reused as many times as possible. In addition, it says volumes of LDPE shrink film used to wrap pallets should be reduced, with care taken to store the film at appropriate temperatures.

Finally, the organisation recommends that the size of metallised plastic packaging should be reduced in order to lower the volume of waste material, especially given that this type of plastic is technically non-recyclable. 

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The Joint Initiative also warns about the impact of plastics on human health, marine life, and climate change, pointing out that the average person could be ingesting 5g of plastics each week – equivalent to the weight of a credit card. It added that up to 13 mn t of plastics (equating to one garbage truck every minute) leak into the ocean. 

A collaboration that includes NGOs as well as the UN and European Commission, the initiative aims to help humanitarian organisations identify and measure the types of packaging they use, with a focus on optimising or eliminating plastic packaging and using more sustainable materials.