By Melissa Anne Gabriel
I CAN’T say no to Sir Ali. You don’t say no to your future maninoy. Thus, even if I am having a “whatta week!”, I need to write something for Tibud. And when you don’t know what to write, the best way to perk up the curiosity of your readers and eventually make them read your article till the last punctuation mark is to write about your love story. I am really unsure if it is love. But nevertheless, it is destined. It was a subject I did not know I might be able to take much less like.
My story with Packaging Technology is, we can say, destiny. I was well on my way to my 2nd semester here at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
I had already enrolled all my subjects for the whole academic year even before first semester started. Thus, when the second semester was about to start, I felt ready and excited to take on new subjects.
My only concern was a course on Food Product Development. The lecturer did not post any schedule of class or requirement in the Massey Internet Portal. When I inquired, the professor replied that he was not offering the course in the second semester! I expressed surprise why I was able to enroll in it if it wasn’t being offered? The professor further retorted that I could take the course at my risk. He explained that it was a very challenging subject and “all international students without exception, had failed the course before.” Reading between the lines, I opted to drop the subject (the first subject I had ever dropped in my entire student life) and looked for another one.
With second semester already starting, I didn’t have many options. Most Food Tech postgraduate papers were offered either during the first semester or double semesters. There were quite a few offered for the second semester but mostly in another campus.
And then I started asking if I could possibly take subjects related to food tech but from another curriculum. When I received a positive answer, I decided to take a chance on the first interesting subject on the list: Packaging Technology.
Yes it pertains to packaging not only for food but to the whole of the packaging industry. I was given an encouraging email from Tom Robertson, the professor offering the course. He said that I was the only student taking the course and so he suggested that we discussed how the course could be tailored in order to accentuate the research path I intended to take next school year.
I agreed to meet him. The first word that came to mind when I entered his office was OH-EM-GEE. It was not an office, but literally a room full of “garbage”. The office was cramped with bottles, cartons, cans and many types of packaging - some unique in shape and colour and others were just plain and ordinary. He even had to clear a chair for me to sit on. Then he introduced me to his latest acquisition: a mineral water bottle from UK. He was fascinated with the bottle as it was irregularly shaped to create an illusion of water flowing. It cost him much to buy the bottle that he wanted to show to his students in one of his classes.
The whole time he was explaining this I was just smiling. All I could see was, well, the obvious: transparent plastic mineral water bottle.
That smile though was erased when he told me that even though there were no exams for the subject, I was expected to do 6 essay assignments plus one essay on a topic pertaining to my thesis next year. These topics included inks, adhesives, barrier polymers, plastic recycling, sustainable packaging, cartons and nanotechnology in packaging.
My mind was whirling with the array of topics. Essay assignments were quite OK in college but the ones required by Massey was by far the most challenging. Apart from content, Massey is very strict in referencing, plagiarism and essay structure. One’s essay is being assessed by an internet program that gives a report on how much one has copied or rephrased and how varied the resources are.
Four essay assignments each having over 3,000 words in one semester was very challenging. Seven assignments for a single subject are too much. But since I didn’t have the luxury of time to look for another subject, I decided to take on the challenge.
When I left Tom Robertson’s office, he gave me a parting line: “I am just warning you. Packaging Technology can be addictive as evidenced by the state of my office.”
I left his office that day fighting the urge to laugh. Ha! What’s there to become addicted to in “garbage”?
But as it turned out, packaging technology got me hooked. I had so much fun doing my research for my essay assignments. And by far I got my highest marks ever in Massey from them. When I did my assignment on plastic recycling, I scoured through my flatmates’ food cabinets to check out the different recycling symbols on their food packaged in plastic and took a picture and included it in my assignment.
Now, every time I look at a mineral water bottle I try looking at it from the perspective of Tom Robertson. Whenever I do my groceries I usually spend a lot of time checking out food items with unique packaging. I guess I have developed a fascination for packaging materials as well. It’s not just fascination too! I get to see the bigger picture.
When I was doing my assignment on Recycling, I realised that even if manufacturers gave 100% effort to ensure packaging recyclability, the fate of a packaging material entirely rests on the hands of the consumer: whether to throw it in a recycling bin or throw it in the street. The sad part is, we, the consumers, have not acknowledged that responsibility. I think we are all guilty of letting a candy wrapper flutter in the wind.
The lessons I learned and the fascination I have with packaging technology did not come from lectures as I didn’t have any with Tom, although from time to time I popped into his office to ask questions when I got stuck with a specific topic.
I don’t know where this flair for the subject comes from. It’s like having an ultimate crush. I just know that when I did my packaging technology assignments I seemed to do it with more gusto, with more intense concentration. Sometimes I even found myself smiling while editing my essays!
I have just submitted my fifth assignment which is on sustainable packaging. I am now on to my 6th and 7th assignment. I don’t know if my fascination with packaging technology will end after I submit my 7th assignment. I don’t know if this current fascination will blossom into a passion for wine bottles, tetra pack, PP, PET, or PS.
Maybe I will never match Tom Robertson’s passion for packaging technology. Theirs is a different love story. I can only admire the professor and his mountain of packaging materials. Last time I popped in his office, he has a new acquisition from Indonesia. I promised him I’ll bring something from the Philippines to add to his collection.
From time to time I check my room and my food cabinet. No acquisitions yet. But who knows? This fascination may just turn into a love affair. ■
Melissa Anne Gabriel is a B.S. Food Technology graduate and faculty member of SOTECH. She is currently on leave taking up her master’s degree in Food Technology in Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
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