Single use packaging is extremely common in this day and age. It is used in industries ranging from food to pharmaceuticals. Unfortunately, a large portion of single use packaging is made from non-renewable, non-sustainable materials that have a serious negative impact on the environment. Environmentally conscious manufacturers can avoid contributing to this problem by learning about and investing in eco-friendly sustainable packaging solutions.
Biodegradable
A huge percentage of packaging materials are made out of plastic. This is detrimental for a variety of reasons. Plastic is not biodegradable, which means that the billions of tons of plastic waste currently buried in landfills or floating around in the ocean will still be polluting the Earth hundreds of years from now. There are plenty of sustainable packaging options that are biodegradable. Making an effort to use these materials instead of plastic could help cut down on the global plastic waste crisis.
Fewer Harmful Chemicals
Plastic contains a lot of harmful chemicals that pollute our environment and contaminate our food. These chemicals are released into the air, soil, and water, and can eventually make their way into our bodies and cause all kinds of health problems. Sustainable packaging that doesn’t contain or release such chemicals is a safer alternative to plastic packaging.
Safer for Wildlife
Non-sustainable packaging is dangerous to wildlife. When plastic packaging ends up in oceans, lakes, and rivers, animals suffer. Marine animals like turtles often get tangled in things like plastic six-pack rings and single-use grocery bags, and end up suffocating or drowning.
It is common for birds, fish, and other animals to mistake pieces of plastic for bits of food, and ingest them. Ingesting plastic can be extremely harmful to animals, as it can result in a blocked digestive system that leads to starvation. Sustainable packaging made of biodegradable materials are less likely to end up polluting bodies of water, and in turn, are less likely to cause harm to wildlife.
If you are in the manufacturing industry, and want to minimize your company’s negative impact on the environment, switching to sustainable packaging is a great way to start.
If you walk into the dairy aisle in any grocery store in the U.S., you will probably notice that there are two main types of milk packaging: milk cartons and milk jugs.
Though a few decades ago, milk carton packaging dominated the dairy industry, plastic milk jugs have become more and more prevalent as the years have passed.
Despite the current prevalence of plastic milk jug packaging, milk carton packaging is superior in many ways.Milk carton packaging is more efficient than milk jug packaging.
Milk jugs are irregularly shaped, which means it is impossible to line them up next to each other without there being some extra space between each jug.
Milk carton packaging is efficiently shaped, with flat, even sides.
Their efficient shape makes it possible to store and shelve more milk cartons than milk jugs in the same amount of space.Milk carton packaging maintains product quality better than milk jug packaging.
