Sustainable Plastics - January/February 2022 - 24

Creating a sustainability
strategy with recyclable
plastic packaging
Consumer demand for
plastic-free products and
packaging is increasing.
However, the so-called 'war
on plastic' ignores the fact
that plastic can be one of
the most environmentally
friendly materials used in
packaging, provided that
the right material selection,
design and end-of-life
approach are adopted.
The war on plastic
When plastic packaging made
its way onto supermarket
shelves in the 1940s, it was
hailed for its benefits: lightweight,
cheap, and with excellent
barrier properties, plastic
allowed food to be processed,
packed and transported with
ease, increasing the array of
produce available for people.
The benefits of plastic packaging
were endless. Fast forward
to the present day, though, and
the perception is not as positive.
Today, issues with plastic
packaging recycling and disposal
have meant that images
of sea turtles tangled in plastic
bags, or remote islands littered
with plastic scrap, are only too
familiar. Many brands are facing
pressure to shift from plastic
packaging to explore what consumers
believe are more environmentally
friendly options.
But, is this really the answer?
Change can be risky
Designing products and packaging
for sustainability is com24
plex;
often it is not as simple as
switching out one packaging
material for another, as all materials
have positive and negative
attributes which need to be
considered.
Last year, a U.K. cross-parliamentary
group cautioned
that consumer pressure to end
plastic packaging in shops
could actually harm the environment,
as many materials
that are deemed more sustainable
come with a more damaging
environmental footprint.
Waste may be an issue with
some plastics; however, CO2
emissions are typically lower
for both production and transport
of plastic packaging when
compared with other packaging
materials. By comparison, glass,
while fully and widely recyclable,
is much heavier than plastic,
which makes it much more
polluting to transport.
Changing how a product is
packaged can also pose significant
practical risks for manufacturers,
with even small changes
causing a knock-on eff ect to
production processes. This
often-forgotten consideration
January/February 2022
includes ensuring that the new
material can be reliably and
legibly coded with machine or
human-readable codes that last
the required life of a product
without impacting recyclability.
Losing perspective of
plastic packaging's
benefits
Attempts to understand and
solve the plastic problem must
evaluate both the pros and
cons of plastic packaging. In
Europe, 24.7 million tonnes of
plastic packaging were produced
in 2018. The reason
being that plastics provide
unparalleled advantages as a
packaging material:
* Plastic is lightweight. A
750-milliliter PET bottle from
Garcon Wines weighs just 63
grams, 87% lighter than an average
glass wine bottle.
* Plastic is resource-eff icient.
Virgin plastic production uses
about half as much energy as
alternative materials, and despite
being a byproduct of the
oil industry, it uses only 4% of
Plastic is often the sustainable
choice. For example, glass,
while fully and widely recyclable,
is much heavier than
plastic, which makes it much
more polluting to transport.
global oil production.
* Plastic is cheap to produce,
allowing for products to be
packaged and distributed without
incurring significant costs
to consumers.
* Plastic is an excellent barrier
material. Using plastics
to package food can extend
shelf life during transportation
and storage, helping to reduce
food waste.
This final point is arguably
the most important one to consider
regarding the advantages
of plastic packaging. Worldwide
emissions from food waste
contribute 3.3 gigatons of CO2
equivalent per year. If food
waste were a country, it would
be the third-largest emitter after
China and the U.S.
Global food supply chains are
complex networks, with fresh
foods transported significant
distances and going through
multiple hands before reaching
consumers. Extending shelf
life and protecting food during
transportation is, therefore, imperative.
This is why significant
investment is made in selecting
the materials and designs for

Sustainable Plastics - January/February 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Sustainable Plastics - January/February 2022

Contents
Sustainable Plastics - January/February 2022 - Cover1
Sustainable Plastics - January/February 2022 - Cover2
Sustainable Plastics - January/February 2022 - Contents
Sustainable Plastics - January/February 2022 - 4
Sustainable Plastics - January/February 2022 - 5
Sustainable Plastics - January/February 2022 - 6
Sustainable Plastics - January/February 2022 - 7
Sustainable Plastics - January/February 2022 - 8
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Sustainable Plastics - January/February 2022 - Cover3
Sustainable Plastics - January/February 2022 - Cover4
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