Packaging waste reduction in construction sites: eco-redesign of cardboard boxes

Abstract

Packaging waste is a major contributor to construction waste, and cardboard is mainly generated during the electricity works. Of the environmental impacts caused by a product, 80% is defined during the design stage, including the impact of the packaging needed to deliver that product on site. This work proposes some strategies to reduce the packaging waste associated with two types of cardboard boxes for electric sockets, and evaluates the potential effects of these strategies. The comparison between the waste performance was based on an indicator defined by the Spanish Royal Decree for packaging and packaging waste, and the research performed on ecoredesign in other sectors was considered as the reference scenario to suggest some strategies to optimize the cardboard boxes. Although the results of the comparison do not show a big difference, together with the incorporation of some changes on the design they could help achieve some important savings for manufacturers, both environmental and economical.