Packaging is everywhere; in your shopping trolley, your cupboards, your deliveries and so much more. This amount of plastic and other non-natural materials can cause environmental problems such as pollution. But there is an alternative: eco-friendly packaging. In this blog, we&#;ll cover all the benefits of eco-friendly packaging that you can gain from.
For more information, please visit HuaWei.
What&#;s the Issue with Normal Packaging?
The primary purpose of packaging is to contain and protect products. Today, packaging is usually an issue of convenience, especially when it comes to food and disposable items. The packaging we find is usually made of a type of plastic: polyethylene. It can come in various types:
Polyethelene terephthalate: commonly used to make drinks bottles. It&#;s the most common and most widely-recycled of all plastic resins.
High-density polyethelene: this is used to make containers for heavier items and liquids such as laundry detergent, shampoo or even motor oil.
Low-density polyethelene: used to manufacture plastic bags and flexible plastic films. This type of plastic is not widely recycled.
These types of plastic can even cover the clothes we buy, either given to us in a plastic bag or delivered in plastic packaging.
Alongside the convenience of plastic, a lot of people think that plastic is recyclable - and they&#;re right - it is. But does that mean it&#;s all getting recycled? Unfortunately, no. In Europe, 70% of recyclable plastics end up in a landfill or the oceans.
Another issue caused by non-environmentally friendly packaging is their manufacturing process. Not only is the majority of plastic created by refining crude oil, but the degradation process is similarly harmful. As plastic degrades over hundreds of years, they can also release toxic substances such as bisphenol A, which can disrupt the hormonal systems of animals.
Furthermore, you may be thinking &#;What about paper and cardboard? Surely they&#;re natural and eco-friendly?&#; The answer is complicated. Yes, paper and cardboard are natural, but that doesn&#;t mean they&#;re an eco-friendly packaging option. 40% of all globally traded wood is used for the pulp and paper industry. This is about 7.5 million hectares of forest.
To fight these issues, let&#;s get to grips with the alternative: eco-friendly packaging.
What is Eco-Friendly Packaging?
The Sustainable Packaging Coalition has set up a number of rules when it comes to what can be called eco-friendly or sustainable packaging:
Beneficial, safe and healthy for individuals and communities throughout its life cycle.
Meets market criteria for performance and cost.
Sourced, manufactured, transported and recycled using renewable energy.
Optimises the use of renewable or recycled source materials.
Is manufactured using clean production technologies and best practices.
Is made from materials that remain non-toxic throughout the life cycle.
Is designed to optimise materials and energy.
Effectively recovered and utilised in biological and/or industrial closed-loop cycles.
Essentially, it needs to be made from eco-friendly materials, biodegradable and able to be either reused or recycled.
The Environmental Benefits of Eco-Friendly Packaging
Reduces Carbon Footprints
If it&#;s made from recycled products, the carbon footprint of your packaging will be greatly reduced. Similarly, if the packaging is made from natural materials such as bamboo or FSC-approved paper or cardboard, the growth of such products actually draws carbon out of the environment. If you&#;re looking to make your business carbon neutral, eco-friendly packaging is the way to go.
Biodegradable
If the packaging is made from natural materials, this means it will be biodegradable. Plastic is not easily biodegraded, taking hundreds if not thousands of years to break down, releasing harmful chemicals on its way. Some eco-friendly packaging, such as sustainable paper products, will even be compostable.
Easily Disposable
Most businesses and places in the UK and Europe have dedicated recycling or disposal locations or services. It&#;s relatively easy to recycle nowadays, provided you separate your disposables so they can be recycled properly.
No Harmful Toxins
Non-sustainable petrochemical resources such as crude oil, which is used to make most plastic, is incredibly harmful to the environment in terms of both extraction, refinement, distribution, use and disposal. Eco-friendly packaging has none of these issues over its lifespan. As it biodegrades, harmful chemicals such as the ones produced by plastic are not present.
Easily Reused or Recycled
Part of what makes packaging eco-friendly is its ability to be reused or recycled. Encouraging the reuse of packaging means that its lifespan is extended, which reduces the need for new materials, further lowering its carbon footprint. If the packaging is of good enough quality, it should be able to be reused for things like further packaging, storage and even arts and crafts.
If you are looking for more details, kindly visit biodegradable plastic film manufacturer.
How Eco-Friendly Packaging Benefits Your Business
Eco-Friendly Packaging is Versatile
Any industry can utilise eco-friendly packaging. Whether you&#;re looking for packaging for foodstuffs, clothing, cosmetics or even electronic devices, there will be an eco-friendly packaging type that will meet your specific needs.
It Improves Your Brand Image
Developing yourself as an environmentally-responsible company creates trust within your customer base. Trends concerning sustainable products are on the rise. For example, in the fashion industry sustainability is a widely-trending topic.
Fashion producer Zara claimed that all of its collections will be made from 100% sustainable materials by . There is even calls to create certifications so that fashion brands can label themselves as &#;truly&#; sustainable. Staying up to date with the trends means that your business will always be at the forefront of innovation and customer satisfaction.
It Can Reduce Transportation Costs
If you source good quality, eco-friendly packaging, it can mean you need to use less of it. This means an overall reduction in transportation costs.
Helps Expand Your Customer Base
90% of CEOs find that sustainability is fundamental to success. With the rise of sustainability trends, we can see that customers want to interact with and purchase from businesses that work towards sustainable practices and goals. Sustainability is increasingly important for any established or fledgling business.
Get the Most Out of Your Packaging
Creating, designing and sourcing eco-friendly packaging can take up a lot of precious time, especially if you don&#;t know what exactly it is you&#;re looking for.
To help you decide, we&#;ve created an all-inclusive guide to packaging that takes you through the steps from start to finish. The guide covers areas such as types of packaging, designing tips, preparing artwork, prototypes, production and so much more.
To discover what you can achieve when it comes to packaging, click the link below.
Biodegradable plastics are made from all-natural plant materials but they aren&#;t all created equal. Cue the confusion and why our clients and visitors to the site are bombarding us with questions surrounding biodegradable plastic.
Is it the right solution for my packaging moving forward? What solutions can you offer? Why can&#;t I just switch to a biodegradable plastic film now?
There&#;s a lot to cover, so let&#;s get straight to it! Here&#;s seven myths we&#;re debunking about biodegradable plastic&#;
1. Biodegradable materials are all plant based and environmentally friendly
This isn&#;t always the case. Biodegradable plastics can be made from naturally based materials such as corn starch Polylactic Acid (PLA). However, some are produced using petrochemicals containing biodegradable additives that enhance biodegradation.
2. Biodegradable plastics have the ability to break down quickly and decompose over time
The definition of biodegradation is the disintegration of materials by microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi or other biological means. However, when it comes to packaging materials, there is no set definition of &#;biodegradability.&#;
Some biodegradable materials don&#;t biodegrade and others require extremely specific conditions. Even then, bioplastics made with petrochemicals can leave behind toxins and small plastic residue that contaminates the soil and makes it unsuitable for composting.
3. We&#;re looking at biodegradable plastics because we want our customers to be able to compost their packaging at home
There needs to be scientific evidence to support the fact that packaging can biodegrade over time in the type of conditions typically found in a home composter.
If a material is truly biodegradable, the packaging may have a number of certifications. In the UK, there are several certifications that let customers know they are suitable for industrial composting or composting at home. You might want to read some more information on the different types of compostable certifications over on our blog here.
4. Plastic is hardly ever recycled or disposed of responsibly but biodegradable plastic can be disposed of responsibly
In theory, yes. However, the majority of biodegradable plastics available on the market today are only certified to decompose in &#;industrial facilities.&#; Sounds great, but consumers soon encounter problems attempting to locate their nearest industrial composting facility. Curbside collection arranged by local authorities won&#;t be around any time soon either.
Many consumers may also place the biodegradable plastic into the plastic recycling bin. This not only contaminates the plastic waste stream, but it can also undermine and distract from the efforts to improve plastic recycling infrastructure.
Failing both of the above, the material may still end up in the usual landfill sites, making the whole process a waste of time, money and resources.
5. At least when it makes its way to a landfill, it will biodegrade faster than plastic
Firstly, there have never really been any conclusive tests that tell us for a fact, how long plastic takes to completely break down. What we do know is that nothing degrades in a landfill, and even if biodegradable plastics did manage to break down somewhat they would release methane, a greenhouse gas more damaging to the environment than CO2.
6. Biodegradable plastics are great because they come from renewable sources
Say we did abolish PET oil-based films and replaced all plastics with bio-plastics such as corn starch PLA films. Would we simply be replacing one unsustainable source with another? With 795 million people in the world without enough food to lead a healthy active life, doesn&#;t it suggest a moral issue with the idea of growing crops for packaging and not for people?
7. Switching to biodegradable plastics shouldn&#;t affect my shelf life
Well, this is where biodegradable plastics become the biggest paradox for food packaging. You want a material to degrade over time but you also want to keep your produce as fresh as possible for the longest period of time?
On paper, PLA films have approximately six months shelf life, from production. That&#;s before the finished packaging is manufactured, packed, shipped, sold and then consumed. For dry products with short sales windows, Paper/PLA combinations are a great combination. For longer shelf life and exporting, biodegradable plastics are just not a feasible solution.
This month we launched our Sustainability series, outlining our commitment to sustainability as well as providing a free eBook for all our followers on the &#;Ultimate Guide to Sustainable Packaging&#;.
If you&#;re looking for more information on biodegradable packaging and feasible solutions for your packaging today, then we suggest you grab a coffee and settle in with our eBook.
Contact us to discuss your requirements of biobag dog poop bags. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.
Comments
All Comments (0)