The packaging industry is the sector that more than any others takes advantage of the magical properties of plastic. As a matter of fact, 36 % of all plastic produced in a year goes into various sorts of packaging. From food and drinks to medicines and drugs, for a company to protect its products - there is no easier and cheaper way of doing that than by using plastic. But plastic comes with its own environmental burden and recycled plastic could be the answer to the global plastic waste issue. In this article, we will explain what the benefits of using recycled plastic are and why brands should start using recycled plastic more often.
FIRST THING FIRST: WHY IS PLASTIC SO USED IN PACKAGING?
First of all, plastic is durable so it can protect the content of packaging no matter how tough the external conditions are. Because it is made from long chains of molecules bound together, it’s almost indestructible!
Secondly, it is light-weighted - which makes its transportation relatively cheap and easy. Compared to the weight of a glass bottle a PET bottle can be 40x lighter. In addition, its low weight contributes to lower energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions during its transportation compared to other materials.
Last but not least, plastic can be molded into limitless shapes - making it an adaptable material with a myriad of possibilities of use. If you try to think about the variety of plastic packaging out there, you are likely to have a headache! From film wraps to boxes, from bottles to containers, when it comes to plastic packaging, the sky's the limit!
Nevertheless, despite all these exceptional perks, plastic comes with a huge environmental burden. More specifically, it’s a burden that weighs 6.3 billion tonnes. That is the weight of all the plastic waste that’s ever been generated. To put it in perspective, if the entire human population stepped on a scale, the weight would be 316 million tons. This makes the weight of all the plastic ever produced 20 times higher than the weight of the entire human population. Let that sink in for a moment.
The reason is for this is that because plastic is so durable that it can reside hundreds of years in the environment before starting to decompose. Studies estimate that it takes a PET bottle at least 450 years to completely degrade and before this happens, it will break down into many tiny pieces called microplastics that can potentially enter our food chain. This is why plastic packaging is among the most frequently found items in our oceans.
BUT DON’T LOSE HOPE!
What if you could have all the benefits of plastic packaging without harming the environment? Actually, what if you could have the benefits of plastic while IMPROVING the status of the environment and communities around you?
Meet sustainable packaging made with recycled plastic!