For companies with sustainable packaging goals, 2025 is fast approaching. The year when many companies have declared to become zero waste, or to use 100 percent reusable, recyclable or compostable packaging.
But COVID-19 has thrown a spanner into those plans, with single-use packaging increasing rapidly, low fossil fuel prices and disrupted recycling systems.
Yet, at the same time, the pandemic has led to a surge in environmental and sustainability awareness by showing how much carbon emissions can decrease, or wildlife can flourish, when the world’s economic engine slows down.
Eco-friendly initiatives used to be quite innovative in the business world. Several years ago, going green was something that only forward thinking companies would promote. Today engaging in sustainable practices isn't something that's nice to do - it's increasingly becoming the standard.
Design
Whether it's packaging, fashion or technology, everything we design needs to be recyclable if we want to eliminate the gap on waste. Whilst considering their designs, many brands are achieving this status and benefiting from their marketing efforts.
The future of packaging will be redesigned to add more impact from less waste.
Just Water have produced a 100% recyclable carton manufactured mainly from paper with the cap produced from sugarcane.
VitaPack have redesigned their food packaging for oranges with a collapsible and sustainable design, replacing the conventional plastic bag and featuring a cardboard material that is easy to recycle.
Innovative Materials
With an estimated 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic circulating our oceans, and increasing daily, plastic is a problem.
Cushion Cubes provide packaging support for unusually shaped and fragile products. Produced from 100% recycled paper fibers and water, these environmentally safe cubes compress under impact and have memory characteristics to maintain cushion. A great alternative to chemical/foam packaging which can be re-used, recycled and composted.
Reuse & Rethink Packaging
The introduction of reuse pilots are increasing, such as Good Goods, a New York startup that incentivizes customers to return their wine bottles to the point of sale. Scanning the bottle’s barcode sends a QR code to customers’ smartphones, awarding them US$2 off their next wine purchase.
Compostable Packaging
Biopolymers and compostable materials are quickly becoming an alternative to disposable packaging. Made using plant based or fossil fuel materials, compostable packaging has the benefit that its end-of-life disposal is environmentally friendly.
Compostable means that the product is capable of disintegrating into natural elements in a compost environment and does not leave behind any toxicity in the soil. The composting process must typically occur in about 90 days.
Responsibility (reuse and recycle)
The fast-food sector is amongst the most wasteful in the world. Burger King has teamed up with Terracycle for their reusable packaging pilot introducing rigid plastic. At the participating restaurants, customers will be charged a deposit fund for the packaging when they purchase their meal.
This will be refunded when they return the packaging through the restaurants’ collection system which will be sanitised and recycled.
Conclusion:
There is a sense of urgency around above issues as plastic production continues and it's more important than ever to take steps to reduce your impact on the environment. Switching to eco-friendly packaging is a very cost-effective way to lower your carbon footprint and achieve sustainability.
No matter what industry you are in, biodegradable packaging is versatile enough to suit any application. It may take a bit of an upfront investment but by making the switch, it will likely save you a lot of money on supplies and shipping costs in the long run.
