1. Manufacturing
1.1. Processes required to produce it and note to include processes req to reuse from end life
1.1.1. Plastic Takeaway Container
1.1.1.1. (Polystyrene) Polystyrene beads heated, dried, vacuumed, placed in a mold and heated up with steam, cooled to form the polystyrene
1.1.2. Plastic Bag Packaging
1.1.2.1. Commonly made from Polyethylene, where it is extruded into thin films, cut and sealed into different shapes and sizes
1.1.3. Problems with doing so
1.1.3.1. Thermoforming and extrusion are both processes that require high amounts of energy to take place, therefore increasing its carbon footprint
1.1.3.1.1. Thermoforming and extrusion also produce significant material wastage as excess plastic after molding must be trimmed off
1.1.4. Potential Solutions
1.1.4.1. Investing in more modern machinery that are more energy-efficient to reduce carbon footprint
1.1.4.1.1. After excess plastic is trimmed off, the excess plastic can be recyled or repurpoused, lowering wastage and raw material costs
2. Materials
2.1. Plastic
2.1.1. What sort of plastic is used for packaging: e.g. pet.etc (Almack, 2021)
2.1.1.1. Hard packaging
2.1.1.1.1. Poly vinyl Chloride (PVC)
2.1.1.1.2. Polypropylene
2.1.1.1.3. Polystyrene
2.1.1.1.4. High-Density Polyethylene
2.1.1.2. Flimsy packaging
2.1.1.2.1. Low-Density Polyethylene
2.1.1.2.2. Polyethylene Terephthalate
2.2. Potential Solutions
2.2.1. Use more environmentally sustainable materials
2.2.2. Materials that are more malluable for packaging
2.3. Problems with using materials
2.3.1. Though versatile, they are not biodegradable. contributing to plastic pollution if not disposed properly
2.3.1.1. Wildlife may choke on these plastics or ingest them.
2.3.1.2. It becomes an eyesore and may cause sickness or death due to them being great places for mosquito breeding grounds
3. End of life Phase
3.1. What happens after the use of plastic packaging
3.1.1. Plastic
3.1.1.1. One time use, thrown into the bin immediately
3.1.1.1.1. After that, it is sent to landfills where it will stay and decompose over the course of hundreds of years
3.1.1.2. Other problems
3.1.1.2.1. Costs
3.1.1.3. Potential solutions
3.1.1.3.1. Business
3.1.1.3.2. Environmental
4. Use Phase
4.1. How plastic is being used
4.1.1. Plastic Packaging
4.1.1.1. Most of the time, plastic packaging is being used to protect products from environmental damage
4.1.1.1.1. Product packaging
4.1.1.1.2. Food packaging
4.1.2. Problems with doing so
4.1.2.1. They are usually a one time use and will be disposed of after use
4.1.2.1.1. This makes them environmentally unfriendly as disposing them will cause them to stay in the environment for hundreds of years due to them being non-biodegradable
4.1.3. Potential Solutions
4.1.3.1. Make these packaging more robust such that they can be used multiple times
4.1.3.1.1. If they can be used multiple times, encourage people to reuse them for another purpose.
5. Solutions
5.1. Problems with solutions
5.1.1. Unintended Environmental impacts
5.1.1.1. Mushroom packaging
5.1.1.1.1. Production of the wood chips needed may result in trees being cut down, releasing carbon emissions.
5.1.1.1.2. (End Life) Beneath the ground: Mycelium used may be an invasive species to the area (Ministry of Forests, 2024)
5.1.1.2. Recycling
5.1.1.2.1. Transportation, processing of the materials requires large amounts of energy and releases carbon emisions as a by product.
5.1.2. Policy Implications
5.1.2.1. If Implementing policieds to use sustainable products
5.1.2.1.1. Greater expendature on once cheap stuff due to a change in packaging
5.1.2.1.2. Profit seeking merchants who artificially inflate the price.
5.1.3. Challenges
5.1.3.1. Mushroom packaging
5.1.3.1.1. (Use Phase) Items may be subjected to different conditions which decreases its lifespan.
5.1.3.1.2. Allergy to mushrooms may be an issue
5.1.3.1.3. Still currently lacking in ease of obtaining it. (Trayak, 2022)
5.1.3.1.4. Preconception of mushrooms putting people off from using them
5.1.3.1.5. The Material is mostly waterresistant but not waterproof
5.1.3.1.6. Increased cost to purchase, which may affect small businesses as it increases their spendings
5.2. Potential Solutions
5.2.1. Using items that can be decomposed
5.2.1.1. Mushroom Packaging with acts like a styrofoam type material to pack sushi in for keeping them alittle longer in the open
5.2.1.1.1. Mushroom packaging
5.2.2. Recycling
5.2.2.1. Recycling PET plastic products and Polystyrene
5.2.2.1.1. PET is recycled by collecting the bottles, shipping it to a location for recycling. Afterwhich, it is shredded, washed, melted into pellets and remolded into products(Recycle the One, 2023)
5.2.2.1.2. Limiting the use of polystrene as though it can be recycled, it is not economical nor cost effective to do so.(Coelho, 2022)
6. Systems thinking
6.1. How do the different components of the product's life cycle interact with each other?
6.1.1. Manufacturing + Use + End of life Phase
6.1.1.1. Due to the plastic packaging being a one time use, its use phase is pretty short which in turn causes the plastic packaging to reach the end of its life quickly, causing more packaging to be thrown away, affecting the ecosystem
6.1.2. Materials + Manufacturing
6.1.2.1. Choosing a material that requires low energy to produce
6.2. Economic Stability
6.2.1. Plastic packaging is cheap to produce and is the most cost efficient for small businesess to use
6.3. How to design it to be more sustainable
6.3.1. Making it more robust so the plastic can be used many times before disposal
6.3.2. Using more sustainable materials that can be decomposed safely into the environment
6.4. Feedback loops
6.4.1. PET used can be recycled using an extensive process to be remanufactured back to its original form
6.4.1.1. Plastic waste that is thrown away would require more newly produced plastics to meet demands for manufacturing instead of fully using recycled plastics to recreate the materials
6.4.1.1.1. By recycling plastic, the demand for more plastic would be reduced, lowering the pollution, creating a positive feedback loop
7. Cost effectiveness
7.1. To make it cost effective, materials used and manufacturing must be as cheap as possible
7.1.1. Mass production
7.1.2. Usage of recycled materials
7.1.3. Or can be used as an alternative with personal reusable containers