Organization and Basis of Presentation (Policies)	3 Months Ended
Organization and Basis of Presentation (Policies)	Mar. 31, 2013
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Organization	*Organization* We are a global leader in food safety and security, facility hygiene and product protection. We serve an array of end markets including food and beverage processing, food service, retail, health care and industrial, commercial and consumer applications. We have widely recognized and inventive brands such as Bubble Wrap ^® brand cushioning, Cryovac ^® brand food packaging solutions and Diversey ^® brand cleaning and hygiene solutions. We conduct substantially all of our business through three wholly-owned subsidiaries, Cryovac, Inc., Sealed Air Corporation (US) and Diversey, Inc. Throughout this report, when we refer to “Sealed Air,” the “Company,” “we,” “our,” or “us,” we are referring to Sealed Air Corporation and all of our subsidiaries, except where the context indicates otherwise. During the fourth quarter of 2012, we began operating under new business divisions for our segment reporting structure. The new segment reporting structure consists of three global business divisions: Food & Beverage, Institutional & Laundry and Protective Packaging, and an “Other” category. See Note 4, “Segments,” for further details of our segment structure.
Basis of Presentation	*Basis of Presentation* Our condensed consolidated financial statements include all of the accounts of the Company and our subsidiaries. We have eliminated all significant intercompany transactions and balances in consolidation. In management’s opinion, all adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring accruals, necessary for a fair presentation of our condensed consolidated balance sheet as of March 31, 2013 and our condensed consolidated statements of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2013 and 2012 have been made. The results set forth in our condensed consolidated statements of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2013 and in our condensed consolidated statements of cash flows for the three months ended March 31, 2013 are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full year. All amounts are in millions, except per share amounts, and approximate due to rounding. Some prior period amounts have been reclassified to conform to the current year presentation. These reclassifications, individually and in the aggregate, had no impact on our consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. During the first quarter of 2013, we identified a misclassification in our December 31, 2012 consolidated balance sheet included in our 2012 Annual Report on Form 10-K. This misclassification, which has been corrected on our December 31, 2012 consolidated balance sheet included in this Form 10-Q, decreased our non-current deferred tax assets and non-current deferred tax liabilities by $105.5 million, decreasing our non-current deferred tax assets from $255.8 million to $150.3 million and decreasing our non-current deferred tax liabilities from $472.5 million to $367.0 million. This misclassification had no impact on our net deferred tax asset balance at December 31, 2012 and it did not impact our consolidated statements of operations or cash flows. Accordingly, we do not consider this correction to be material to our consolidated financial condition or results of operations. Our condensed consolidated financial statements were prepared in accordance with the interim reporting requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC. As permitted under those rules, annual footnotes or other financial information that are normally required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, or U.S. GAAP, have been condensed or omitted. The preparation of condensed consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts and the disclosure of contingent amounts in our condensed consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could differ from these estimates. We are responsible for the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and notes included in this report. As these are condensed financial statements, they should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and notes included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012 and with the information contained in other publicly-available filings with the SEC. In November 2012, we completed the sale of Diversey G.K. (“Diversey Japan”) (an indirect subsidiary of Sealed Air). The operating results for Diversey Japan were reclassified to discontinued operations, net of tax, on the consolidated statements of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2012 . Prior year disclosures in the condensed consolidated statement of cash flows and the Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements have been revised accordingly. See Note 3, “Divestiture”.
Recently Issued Accounting Standards	Adopted in 2013 In October 2012, the FASB issued ASU 2012-04, Technical Corrections and Improvement, which makes certain technical corrections (i.e., relatively minor corrections and clarifications) and “conforming fair value amendments”. The amendments affect various codification topics and apply to all reporting entities within the scope of those topics. This standard becomes effective for us upon issuance, except for amendments that are subject to transition guidance, which was effective for fiscal periods beginning after December 15, 2012. The adoption of this standard did not have any material effect on our consolidated financial condition or results of operations. In July 2012, the FASB issued ASU No. 2012-02, Testing Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets for Impairment. This standard update, which amends the guidance on testing indefinite-lived intangible assets, other than goodwill, for impairment, provides companies with the option to first perform a qualitative assessment before performing the two-step quantitative impairment test. If the company determines, on the basis of qualitative factors, that the fair value of the indefinite-lived intangible asset is more likely than not to exceed its carrying amount, then the company would not need to perform the two-step quantitative impairment test. This standard does not revise the requirement to test indefinite-lived intangible assets annually for impairment. This standard was effective for annual and interim impairment tests performed for fiscal years beginning after September 15, 2012, with early adoption allowed. The adoption of this standard did not have any material effect on our consolidated financial condition or results of operations. In December 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-11, Disclosures about Offsetting Assets and Liabilities, which creates new disclosure requirements about the nature of an entity’s rights of offset and related arrangements associated with its financial instruments and derivative instruments. The disclosure requirements are effective for annual reporting periods beginning on or after January 1, 2013, and interim periods therein, with retrospective application required. The new disclosures are designed to make financial statements that are prepared under U.S. GAAP more comparable to those prepared under International Financial Reporting Standards. The adoption of this standard did not have any material effect on our consolidated financial condition or results of operations. In February 2013, the FASB issued ASU 2013-02, Reporting of Amounts Reclassified Out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income, which requires an entity to provide information about the amounts reclassified out of accumulated other comprehensive income by component. In addition, a company is required to present either on the statement of operations or in the notes significant amounts reclassified out of accumulated other comprehensive income by the respective line items of net income. The disclosure requirements are effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2012, prospectively. We have included footnote disclosures for the three months ended March 31, 2013. See Note 11, “Derivatives and Hedging Activities and Note 15, “Stockholders’ Equity” for further details. The adoption of this standard did not have any material effect on our consolidated financial condition or results of operations as they are disclosure requirements only. *Pending in 2013* In February 2013, the FASB issued ASU 2013-04, Obligations Resulting from Joint and Several Liability Arrangements for Which the Total Amount of the Obligation is Fixed at the Reporting Date, This standard update requires an entity to measure obligations resulting from joint and several liability arrangements for which the total amount of the obligation within the scope of this guidance is fixed at the reporting date, as the sum of the following: (a) the amount the reporting entity agreed to pay on the basis of its arrangement among its co-obligors and (b) any additional amount the reporting entity expects to pay on behalf of its co-obligors. This standard becomes effective for fiscal years and interim periods within those years beginning after December 15, 2013. This standard update is required to be applied retrospectively to all prior periods presented for those obligations resulting from joint and several liability arrangements that existed at the beginning of the fiscal year of adoption. We are currently evaluating the impact of this standard update on our consolidated financial statements. In March 2013, the FASB issued ASU 2013-05, Parent’s Accounting for the Cumulative Translation Adjustment upon Derecognition of Certain Subsidiaries or Groups of Assets within a Foreign Entity or of an Investment in a Foreign Entity. This standard update requires an entity to release any cumulative translation adjustment into net income only if the sale or transfer results in the complete or substantially complete liquidation of the foreign entity in which the subsidiary or group of assets had resided. This standard update becomes effective prospectively for fiscal years and interim periods within those years beginning after December 15, 2013. The impact of this standard update on our consolidated financial statements will be based on any future activity that qualifies within this guidance.