Overpackaging

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Overpackaging is the use of excess packaging. The Institute of Packaging Professionals defines it as "a condition where the methods and materials used to package an item exceed the requirements for adequate containment, protection, transport, and sale".^[1] It aligns with the hierarchy principle of reduce, rescue, recycle, prioritizing the elimination of unnecessary package.^[2]

Reducing overpackaging is a key strategy in source reduction, which aims to minimize waste before it is generated.^[3] It aligns with the waste hierarchy principle of reduce, reuse, recycle, where eliminating unnecessary packaging takes precedence over recycling or disposal.^[2] In some cases, the degree of excessive packaging is quite obvious; while in others, whether it is excessive packaging or not may be subject to dispute depending on the assessment criteria.

For example, luxury packaging frequently uses more packaging than the minimum requirements. The enterprises hold that additional packaging is beneficial for protecting the products and enhancing their sales appeal. It can convey the brand concept, boost the visual appeal of the products, and increase the sense of ritual when consumers purchase luxury goods.^[4] Gift wrapping traditionally involves additional layers, though consumer preferences and cultural practices sustain its use.^[5] Decorative packaging boxes incorporate artistic design elements. The function of such boxes goes beyond the basic requirements of product protection or transportation; instead, they can better create a sense of ceremony.^[6]

An example of a wasteful package design is a breakfast cereal box (some other products also). This is typically a folding carton enclosing a plastic bag of cereal. Cartons are frequently tall and wide but very thin. This has a poor material to volume ratio and is inefficient and wasteful. Package designers are aware of this opportunity to save packaging costs, materials, and waste but marketing and merchandising people want the “billboard” style package for advertising and graphics. An optimized folding carton would use much less paperboard for the same volume of cereal, but with reduced room for graphics. Use of only a resealable plastic bag would use even less material per unit of cereal; of course, even that option results with an empty plastic bag to discard.^[7][8]

The amount of paperboard in a folding carton blank is the sum of the area of all faces of the carton plus the area of the inner flaps, plus a glued lap. This area can be compared to the volume of the carton by a ratio for a measure of efficiency. Depending on the specific design and choice of length, width, and height, this efficiency can vary significantly.^{[9] [10]}

Underfilled packaging (Slack-fill packaging) refers to the design of packaging containers with internal volumes significantly exceeding the actual space required for the product, resulting in non-functional empty areas.^[11] The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has defined six permissible reasons for functional underfilling in packaging: additional space required to protect contents; extra space necessitated by machinery requirements related to the packaged product; additional space resulting from natural settling of products during transportation; packaging-related space needed to facilitate food preparation or consumption; reusable containers with extra space (which helps display contents and maintains significant value after product use - including food containers, promotional items, commemorative durable containers, and gift sets); and additional space resulting from the inability to increase fill quantity or reduce package size due to food labeling requirements, tamper-evident features, or efforts to facilitate handling or prevent theft. The FDA considers packaging to be misleading if manufacturers fail to adequately fill packages for reasons other than those specified above.^[11][12]

In E-commerce, "the overpackaging of products has become a major ecological concern."^[13][14] E-commerce packaging usually requires separate shipments and may include rough handling during shipment. This process involves multiple packaging layers: first, the retail packaging itself must be transported through courier systems; second, these retail packages are frequently placed in oversized corrugated boxes with substantial filler materials for stabilization.^[15]

The design of packaging systems presents difficult choices. For example, manufacturers optimizing packaging design for e-commerce shipping needs might ostensibly lead to excessive packaging for physical retail.^[16] Conversely, packaging designed solely for retail display purpose often fails to meet e-commerce logistics protection requirements.^[16]

In the packaging design of electronic products, engineers need to take into account both the fragility of the products and the packaging protection during transportation at the same time. Sometimes, proper protection may lead to use of expensive cushioning materials and oversized packaging dimensions, resulting in waste of packaging materials. Therefore, optimizing packaging design to ensure that it can effectively protect the products while reducing the packaging materials is an important goal in the current packaging design of electronic products.

The requirements of individual shipment in e-commerce can require rugged packaging. Some products require dual-layer packaging systems (pallet shipping packaging + individual delivery packaging). This design not only leads to a decrease in production efficiency, but also highlights the need for innovative packaging solutions.^[17]

Fresh produce is usually presented for sale without packages, allowing shoppers to touch the items and choose which ones to buy. Some foods are over wrapped with shrink film, individually bagged, or further protected to increase the appeal to some customers. However, there are different opinions and discussions on whether the additional packaging of fresh agricultural products is necessary.^[18]

• 
  A tomato on a plastic tray and with a plastic shrink film
• 
  Apples in shrink film and foam cushioning
• 
  Individual bananas inside plastic bags
• 
  Banana in plastic container
• 
  Melons with wrappings in individual wooden boxes

• Soroka, W, "Fundamentals of Packaging Technology", IoPP, 2002, ISBN 1-930268-25-4
• Yam, K. L., "Encyclopedia of Packaging Technology", John Wiley & Sons, 2009, ISBN 978-0-470-08704-6