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5 ways to reduce your consumption
of single-use plastic packaging
The impact of plastic on the environment is currently a global focus. Many countries are considering a tax on unrecyclable plastics and businesses are pledging to reduce their plastic waste.
According to Plastic Oceans, we’re now producing over 300 million tonnes of plastic globally every year, and over half of this is single-use plastic, i.e. plastic that is used once then thrown away[i].
Tonnes of waste plastic ends up in our oceans, posing a threat to marine life and the environment.
As packaging accounts for over 40% of the world’s total plastic use[ii], it’s unsurprising that consumers are putting increased pressure on manufacturers and retailers to reduce their consumption of single-use plastics and cut unnecessary packaging:
So how can your company cut down on single-use plastic packaging?
Here are 5 suggestions:
1. Swap bubble wrap for eco-friendlier void fill
Bubble wrap has been a popular way of filling voids in cardboard boxes and preventing damage to goods in transit for years. However, it uses a lot of plastic and is usually thrown away after a single use.
You can eradicate your use of plastic void fill by switching to Nuevopak TM recyclable paper void fill made of 100% biodegradable paper.
Or use Cushionpack TM machines to convert your waste cardboard into void fill, reducing your recycling costs at the same time.
Alternatively, you can protect your products with Locked Air TM pillows. They come with a choice of a degradable pillow film or an ultra-thin film made of 35% less plastic than standard air pillow systems.
2. Swap bubble-lined mailers for Surf all paper mailers
Bubble mailers are hard to recycle properly as it’s difficult to completely separate the polythene lining from the paper on the outside of the envelope.
Surf all paper padded mailers are much easier to recycle as they’re made of paper inside and out.
They’re also a great alternative to posting products using polythene mailers.
3. Swap standard stretch film for Extremus Stretch Film
Extremus Stretch Film is a strong, thin pre-stretched film used for machine wrapping pallets.
The revolutionary way it’s manufactured allows it to be applied at less than 4mu thickness, meaning less film is required to wrap a pallet.
Using Extremus Stretch Film drastically reduces the weight of plastic needed to wrap a pallet whilst increasing load stability and providing excellent protection for goods in transit.
4. Swap polypropylene tape for gummed paper tape
Seal your cardboard boxes and cartons with gummed paper tape. Gummed paper tape is made of recyclable paper and is biodegradable.
Not only is it more environmentally friendly than plastic tape, it also looks neater and is tamper evident.
It’s water-activated and can be printed with branding or a message.
5. Swap standard polypropylene tapes for Inova tape
Inova tape has a super strong adhesive meaning only one strip of Inova tape is needed to get the same hold as three or four strips of standard tape. By using less tape, you’ll be using less plastic.
Inova tape also has an impressive 200m of tape on a small core, meaning fewer cardboard cores are used and thrown away.
Get in touch with us for more help with finding sustainable packaging solutions.
[i] https://plasticoceans.org/the-facts/
[ii] https://plasticoceans.org/the-facts/
