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Where would we be without microwave meals? What would happen if soup did not come in a can or if crisps were sold loose? Although such scenarios are unlikely, the amount of packaging on the goods we buy is under scrutiny.

In January, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) will hold a conference to discuss how to meet revised EU targets for reducing and recycling packaging waste. The EU is seeking to harmonise regulations on packaging across member states.

By the end of next year, EU members should be recycling 60% of glass, paper and board, 50% of metal, 22.5% of plastic and 15% of wood packaging.

The existing rules in the UK were laid down by the Packaging (Essential Requirements) Regulations 2003, which require companies to limit the volume and weight of packaging, and the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997, which encourage recycling.

FMCG companies have already made some effort to reduce packaging waste, and all the major producers have schemes to improve the sustainability of the packaging they use.

Disintegrating trays

Nestle is in the process of introducing a biodegradable tray in its Dairy Box and Black Magic chocolate boxes. The tray is based on a derivative of maize and will decompose in three months on a compost heap or disintegrate in moments in contact with water.

It uses about 50% less energy than its plastic counterpart, and Nestle is looking to roll out similar materials for packaging on other products.

A company spokesman said: 'Nestle has been trying to reduce its amount of packaging since the early 90s, through programmes such as lightweighting or removal of unnecessary packaging, while ensuring the contents of packs are adequately protected. Since the onset of the programmes, we have reduced packaging by 18,000 tonnes.'

Drinks company Innocent is also developing a biodegradable bottle for its smoothies. But elsewhere, there is a lot of room for improvement across the industry as a whole.

Packaging accounts for about 5m tonnes of household waste a year, and a similar amount of industrial waste, according to the UK Industry Council for Packaging and the Environment (Incpen). Only about 50% of packaging is recovered for recycling.

'It is in the companies' best interests to explore sustainable alternatives,' says Incpen director Jane Bickerstaffe. 'Costs and environmental considerations go hand-in-hand. Reducing packaging enables companies to transport more products in one go and allows more products to be displayed on the shelf.

This reduces energy and raw material costs.'

Essential materials

The scope for reducing packaging may be limited in some cases. Procter & Gamble argues the packaging on its products is essential and claims it already uses the minimum amount of materials. It points out that these must ensure products such as household cleaners can be stored and transported safely, and provide labelling space for safety information.

It is not just FMCG companies that are working toward package reductions.

McDonald's claims its packaging items have been designed to use the minimum amount of materials. 'We undertake regular reviews of our packaging to identify any further opportunities for reductions or for the use of different materials,' says UK environment manager Jessica Sansom. 'Our last review saw changes made to our plastic cutlery, reducing our annual use of paper by 78 tonnes and plastic by 230 tonnes.'

Supermarkets are also working to cut packaging. This year 13 retailers joined the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) to tackle packaging and food waste under an agreement known as the Courtauld Commitment. They agreed to halt the increase in packaging waste by 2008, deliver reductions by 2010 and identify ways to tackle the problem of food waste.

However, Incpen concedes that the upward trend in the number of single households could render these targets unreachable. Producers are having to turn out more single-portion meals and foodstuffs to avoid food waste.

'Food waste is much more damaging in terms of environmental resources than packaging waste,' explains Bickerstaffe.

Elsewhere in Europe, taxes on packaging have been used to encourage consumers to choose items that use less packaging and to cut down on the use of carrier bags. Defra has no plans for a similar tax in the UK; the department is piloting a range of incentive schemes instead, to encourage greater levels of participation in recycling schemes.

Incpen also argues that a tax is not necessary and claims that a proportion of the taxes collected in other countries goes to waste.

If FMCG companies, retailers and fast-food producers take their responsibility to reduce waste seriously, it would allow the government to divert resources from pressuring these companies to act and do more to encourage consumers to change behaviour.

It just might make more consumers scrutinise the volume of waste they produce and cut demand for excessive packaging, forcing the world's global packaging offenders to react accordingly. After all, every company claims to give its customers what they want.

DATA FILE - PACKAGING WASTE AND RECYCLING Year Total packaging Recovered & recycled % waste (m tonnes) packaging (m tonnes) recycled 1998 10.24 3.34 28.9 1999 9.19 3.51 33.5 2000 9.18 3.85 36.5 2001 9.31 4.46 42.0 2002 9.90 4.99 44.5 2003 10.06 5.30 46.8 2004 10.23 5.68 49.7 Source: Defra