How To Reduce Packaging Waste?

With the advent of multiple new products being launched, new ways of packaging are also being implemented. This has led to an increase in the quantity of packaging waste produced after these products reach the consumer. This adds on to become a major part of waste produced globally. Essentially, this waste includes single-use plastic packaging, paper, styrofoam, cardboard boxes, and so on. Packaging waste accounts for 40% of all the solid waste in the municipal waste streams. 

Packaging items of food ware such as straws, takeout containers often end up in the ocean, where they pollute the marine environment and disturb the sustainability of the aquatic life forms.

Did this question ever come to your mind as to how we can reduce the waste and hence save mother earth?

A few tips that should be bought into immediate practice by the consumer includes:-

• Use of reusable bags, water bottles, and portable coffee mugs.
• One can buy vegetables from vendors rather than the pre-packaged ones.
• Reuse the packaging products like paper and plastic whenever possible.
• Instead of buying new items, look them up on craigslist, and so on.

Many companies are shifting towards more eco-friendly ways to package their product and promote sustainable packaging. 

An example can be, Puma is the world’s first major company, to use clever ways and reach out to the mass audience in the form of “Clever Little Bag”, which replaces the traditional cardboard shoebox with a cloth bag.

KFC is the second-largest restaurant chain with over 43,000 outlets and spread over 123 countries has committed to becoming plastic-free by the year 2025. It has already started to reduce its carbon footprint by source 100% of its packaging material in the form of paperboard, whereas in Singapore, the KFC branches have stopped giving plastic cups and straws. 

Both these companies, along with many more, are doing their part to have a sustainable future for the planet through innovative ideas. 

Let us have a look at how we can further decrease the amount of packaging waste from an industry perspective.

• Enlist the materials that are recyclable and reusable for the packing:-The amount of waste that ends up in landfills will automatically reduce when we use recyclable and reusable materials.
• Seek packaging that is minimalistic in approach:- The industry should seek an alternative towards designing an attractive and innovative packaging that will not use a large quantity of packing material. This act will, in turn, reduce the production cost as the cost of packaging and transport is decreases due to the minimalistic approach.
• Acquire sustainable materials:- Materials like glass bottles, aluminium, containers made out of wood and metal are all sustainable materials and can be used as an alternative for packaging in an industry.
• Use of Biodegradable packaging:- Materials such as cornstarch that is used in corn-based plastic packaging are easily broken down in composting facility thereby, making sure that none of the packaging waste ends up in landfills.
• Invest in a cardboard baler:- As the majority of packaging needs are fulfilled through the help of cardboards, the waste produced is also very high in terms of volume. A cardboard baller can significantly reduce the volume by 90%, thus freeing up space for storage and transportation.

Many companies are now making a radical change in their packaging materials to reduce the carbon and environmental footprint while saving on costs of transportation and storage. The cradle-to-cradle concept, where a product is sent from the producer via the retailer and finally to the consumer, often ends up using significant quantities of packaging materials for the safety of the product. This has led to a new era of packaging materials that are environmentally friendly and innovative in practice. 

These include:-

Organic Fibers:-

These include hemp, recycled cotton, palm leaves, and many more. These materials can degrade in less than 100 days as compared to the 10,000 years of plastic bags.

Recycled cardboard and paper:- The materials marked with an FSC- certificate are better choices when it comes to industry-grade packaging cardboard in terms of quantity as these are extracted from a sustainably managed forest.

Seaweed packaging:-

The gelatinous substance agar found in many plants is now prototyped as a packaging material and can be the next cardboard of the packaging industry. 

Even though the world has come a long way in terms of its packaging material, we are still far from what we can achieve and how to minimise our carbon footprint on the environment.